#i understand i understand and it's tragic and it's consistent and it makes sense with the information you had but you-

[gayofthefae]

Still mad at that mf for doing this to him by the way.

[okitanoniisan]

i keep saying i need to make some zhaoryu shit but i'm back on my y5 kazusaeji bullshit again they are just so. m

[sha-brytols]

and the thing is i've said so many wildly conflicting things about how flawed solas' character portrayal was in veilguard but like. i unironically do believe they're All True and like i think i can kind of(?) articulate why

like solas in veilguard to me was a pretty perfect example on how clear it is that dragon age has suddenly and drastically regressed from being an exploration into moral ambiguity and that fine smudged line between "hero" and "villain" to a sudden inexplicable refusal to allow any sort of grey area in character motivations in favor of forcing them into a binary box like its a dnd alignment. and i think this specifically because there is literally No Way to write solas in a morally uncomplicated manner while still maintaining anything that makes him an interesting character.

people who hate solas hate veilguard because it removed literally any nuance to his character and repeatedly paints him as a poor mistreated victim whose only crime is that he was Forced to do things He Didnt Want to by a significantly underwritten and highly anticipated female character, and his regrets are all varying degrees of "it's my fault because i was right and they didn't listen to me :(" and no actual agency in his own decision making. his romance with a lavellan is literally front and center in the game and the only one that even gets more than a passing letter or (in dorian's case) like. two full lines of dialogue. the narrative does everything to silently paint him as the misunderstood tragic hero that no one truly appreciates and even rewrites the inquisitor so they always want to redeem him regardless of their previous disposition

people who love solas hate veilguard because it somehow managed to simultaneously do the same thing in reverse. solas has no genuine regrets or sense of guilt or actual reflection about his past behavior in the entire game. he kills his best friend and the game makes sure to zoom in on his face as varric is falling down just so you can see the sneer of contempt. the war table finebros react segments where its literally just the writers unapologetically utilizing the companions as mouthpieces for their personal opinions makes sure to tell the player that solas is unforgivable and a hypocrite and a coward for his actions. they even like. rewrote an entire part of his character specifically to remove that layer of complexity and dumb it down to the Lying Liar Who Lies. where the narrative silently wants you to sympathize with him, the characters LOUDLY want you to condemn him. your most sympathetic dialogue choices are lukewarm "well... i GUESS i understand why..." delivered in a consistent tone of disapproving resignment.

people who are neutral to solas? you're not ALLOWED to be. here you go. Dragon Age: Solas. everything is about solas. you have to make all your choices based around solas. we've written an entire game to revolve around solas. we rewrote like 4 characters to make sure that you are forced into one of the two extremes.

and it's all because you have a game that physically cannot help itself but to make you make the Good Decision and so they can't decide which decision is good and which is bad so they wrote two completely conflicting stories about him at the same time. he is the best boy. he is the worst. it genuinely feels like the writing team was actively wrestling with each other behind the scenes over whether or not solas is a Bad Guy and thus their only means of compromise was writing him as though he was dr jekyll and mr hyde without any transition or consistency. he is a villain. he is a hero. you are a bad person for not seeing his point of view. you are a good person for peacefully redeeming him. and i know there's people who think this is some sort of ingenius character study but none of this is intentional. he isn't like loghain who commits bad acts in service to a greater good. he's the prideful god who lied to the inquisitor about wanting to free the elves and instead his goal has been about his own personal ego all along. he isn't like flemeth, who does good by people and manipulates the story in your favor all for the sake of her own mysterious ends. he isn't even like the architect who lies and murders and manipulates the warden all in the service of his own deluded vision. he's the guy who wants to destroy the world because his abusive ex is forcing him to. but also he's the guy who wants to destroy the world because he thinks mortal life is insignificant and he should be in control because hes The Best.

all complexity of what was previously a deeply nuanced character has been removed, and it's because he used to be so complex that it's so disjointed and bad because they refuse to actually commit to any one direction because in that case they'd might as well make another character. but they can't. they have to make it solas. because solas is their cash cow and their baby.

they want to make a perfect solavellan happy ending because they want to please the people who love their baby but they're so fundamentally divorced from what their audience wants for solas that they ended up writing a caricaturized ai-generated romance novel for teenagers.

they want to make a cathartic fight scene where you beat the bad man because they want to please the people that hate their villain but they have such blatant contempt for criticism of their precious little baby that they make sure to infantilize and misrepresent his flaws as much as they can so he can be the sad little elf boy that you need to hug.

and despite all of this they ALSO wanted so desperately to avoid making you sympathize too much with the antagonist they were building up to that they had to make sure he acted in the most unforgivably evil ways that they could think of just so players knew this is the Bad Guy and you're the Good Guy and don't you forget it.

it's just constant self contradictory writing. it is so blatant that it's genuinely hard for me to even see veilguard's solas as being the same character. i find myself nodding my head in agreement to his most ardent haters because yeah you're right. they did spend an insane amount of time forcing you to see just how innocent and well-intentioned and pure this egotistical mass-murderer was. and i also find myself nodding in agreement with his biggest fans because yeah. you're right. they did randomly turn this character into a moustache-twirling villain who does everything short of tying rook to railroad tracks and cackling as he runs away to tear down the veil. and all this because they couldn't stand to not have him be in the game in the biggest and most impactful way. they literally could not have a story without solas.

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

More thoughts on Lucanis x Neve romance, from a Rookanis enjoyer, with love.

(Grab a snack. This is long.)

What I'll be focusing on in this post: Extra info and fun facts about Lucanis and Spite that I have gathered during my playthroughs. The consistency of Lucanis' writing between his romatic relationships with Rook and Neve. Addressing some criticism I've seen to be common. These are my thoughts and opinions.

As I said in my previous post about this topic, I enjoy seeing affectionate Lucanis from the external perspective, because it gives me more insight into his character. Of course, this isn't restricted to just romance, but that's what I want to focus on in this post. (It's too long as it is.) I also have to admit that I'm not exactly a Nevecanis shipper myself (not a big shipper in general), because I simply prefer romancing these characters myself, but I do think that it's a good thing that in my other playthroughs where I explore other options, besides my favourite, Lucanis has someone to make him happy, and I can personally think of nobody better for it than Neve, and Neve also deserves the world. I think it's good that they decided to pair some characters up, when unromanced, so that the group is more lively and doesn't feel like Rook's harem. Also, I tend to reblog whatever artwork of these characters that I like, regardless of whether I'm personally into the pairings or not, and regardless of whether they're possible in the game. Whatever you ship, we're good. As long as we're having fun. But that's beside the point of this post. I'm rambling already.

In my previous post, I ended my commentary with my thoughts about the dialogue cutscene that happens right after Inner Demons, where Rook finds Lucanis preparing dessert either for them or for Neve, depending on whether Rook romances him or not, and the similarities and differences of how each is handled and how each relationship develops until that point.

One thing that I didn't really touch upon is that if Rook saves Minrathous instead of Treviso, we don't get to do the Inner Demons quest, but we still get the dessert scene. So, only briefly. As most of us probably know by now, if Rook sacrifices Lucanis' home, they are cut off from his romance. Neve is not. I'm not going to delve deep into the nuance of that here. Suffice to say that Lucanis is in a vulnerable place after the Ossuary, almost a full year of physical and psychological torture, he's struggling for control of his own body with what most would consider a demon, he thinks his grandmother is dead. His abuser is still somewhere out there. He only has revenge, Treviso, and Illario left, and his cousin acts damn weird, on top of it all. If Rook makes the decision that also dooms his home, it understandably breaks his heart, even if he realizes that Rook is not to blame for what happened. He's lost pretty much everything at that point. (By the way, have you seen blighted Treviso? That place is utterly fucked. I don't think many people could process that in a healthy way.) Meanwhile Neve is in the same position as him when that choice occurs and is just as dependent on Rook's decision as he is. She is ultimately also not the one that makes the decision. It makes sense that he bonds with her over it rather than with Rook. (No, I don't care if you use a mod to make the romance happen anyway. Private mod use is none of my business.) I'm definitely not saying that one choice is better than the other, of couse. They're two different flavours of terrible. Neve is also hurt by the decision to sacrifice her home town, but she's also tragically used to struggling against the system alone and to people not showing up, and it feels like she still has at least something to hold onto. Minrathous is in terrible state and the future of the whole country looks grim, nobody knows what the consequences will be, but at the very least Dock Town stands. Hal is alive and selling treats. Some of the little people she cares about are still there. Neve's a different person with different problems to solve, and she can still find it in her heart to fall for Rook, which is amazing. But anyway...

---

What other sweet and interesting things have I learned from their romance?

Lucanis can recognize Rook by the sound of their footsteps.

We know that from walking in on him in Neve's office where he's alone, waiting for her.

Spite yells at him to talk to his sweetheart!

By saying, "Well, not just Spite," Lucanis is definitely referring to himself here. He wants to try and be more open about his feelings and Spite clearly tries to motivate him to be more proactive.

You can bet Spite yells at him to talk to Rook, as well.

Either way, we find out that Spite is supportive of Lucanis' relationship and even encourages him to act on his feelings. (Seriously, Lucanis beating around the bush must be so frustrating for a spirit of Determination.) I think that from this we can safely say that Spite also likes Neve. Enough to encourage Lucanis to court her.

Of course, we already know that Spite likes Rook a lot, and I imagine that most of us Rookanis lovers already headcanon Spite pestering Lucanis to express his feelings for Rook anyway. Or something similar. However, I don't think it's actually confirmed during a playthrough where Rook romances Lucanis. So, here, Spite canonicaly yells at Lucanis to woo his love interest.

A lot more yapping under the cut.

Once again, in this scene we see how Lucanis doesn't really have a lot of confidence in himself in this department. He keeps mentioning how he's not really good at sweet talk, which is very much in line with what he says during the previous scene where we catch him preparing the dessert before. In total, he says something to that effect at least 3 or 4 times in the game - that all he knows is knives and coffee, that he's not the charming type, that he isn't good with words, etc. (That's not what I personally think about him, but that's what he obviously thinks about himself.) He's not beating the wet cat allegations any time soon.

As I said in my previous post already, I noticed that some consider Lucanis' writing to be inconsistent between his romance with Rook and Neve. And we're all entitled to our opinions, of course. But I'd like to explain why I do not think that is true. Again, that is my perspective and my opinion.

There is one variable here that is not often taken into account here, and that is Rook. Well, two, actually. Because I think we also need to keep in mind that the scene where Lucanis' romance with Neve locks in happens quite some time after Inner Demons and the scene that occurs right afterwards where we catch Lucanis preparing the dessert. In that scene, he is still very much a wet cat, regardless of whether he's preparing the dessert to woo Rook or whether it's for Neve. (Not a bad thing to remember here is that falling for somebody seems to be rare enough for Lucanis, as he's never been in a relationship before, and he has already once before been rejected after trying to court somebody with a gift.)

First of all, if Rook is not present during the follow-up scene where the lock-in for Lucanis and Neve is supposed to happen, if the player for some reason decides to skip it, Lucanis does not express his interest to Neve and, tragically, may later regret this, should something happen to her. It makes sense that he would still have feelings for her, even if he never confessed. Love doesn't go away like that, just because you never put it into words. Also, I know this is a video game mechanic, but I still consider it part of his characterization that he needs his partner to either be very perceptive (like Rook during the scene after Inner Demons) or in this case get cornered a little to actually express his feelings in this complicated phase of his life. It makes sense when you look at how this scene plays out. Rook being there for the start of his romance with Neve is important - either it puts him a bit more at ease, or more on the spot, or a litte bit of both. Either way, it helps them work it out. (It also makes sense that it is Rook that basically spells it out to the player during the previous scene, after Inner Demons, that Lucanis has made a dessert specifically for them, if romanced, because they understand him and what he's trying to say, but the player may not, because Lucanis tends to deflect and put himself and his efforts down. He clearly has a lot of insecurity in this department and Rook is good at untangling it.)

As I also mentioned in my previous post, it's clear that when Lucanis made the first dessert, he clearly didn't express his feelings for Neve then, because... well, we get their romance lock-in here, in this scene, so much later. (I got this scene after Blood of Arlathan. That's pretty late in the game.) Neve also explicitly states that this is the second time he's made her favourite kind of pie.

With Rook, they figured it out and officially started dating on Lucanis' first try. (Or the first pie? Haha.) However, with Neve, this is his second attempt to express his feelings. This is one of the reasons why I think Lucanis' writing is consistent, and why I previously said that his romance with Neve may actually be slower than with Rook. They take longer to actually start dating and Lucanis is very much a wet cat all the way until this point.

And even in this scene, you can see that Lucanis drops the treat and coffee in Neve's office and is almost ready to evacuate again!

He just... keeps saying that.

That's so him. The Demon of Vyrantium, the legendary slayer of blood mages and Venatori, the master assassin, the demon-powered killing machine that made a near immortal eldrich horror bleed, on the verge of retreat... from his love interest, because he may know how to kill a man with his bare hands in a hundred different ways, but sweet talk? Nah, that's scary.

Except this time, Rook is there to provide emotional support (or peer pressure, haha). They already know all about his feelings for Neve. Especially if the Inner Demons quest occurs. And they can so tattle on him, if you so choose. Each of those options is pretty cute and/or funny.

No, I'm making you look great. You'll just have to trust me on this, Lucanis.

But most importantly, seeing Lucanis getting tangled in this situation, Neve finally says something. Either she finally figures it out, or more likely she just finally acknowledges it. She's a seasoned detective. She observes people all the time. Of course she would notice that he's trying to treat her special. However, from Neve's romance, we also know that she herself struggles with her own issues, namely with letting people close, so this is a significant step for her, as well. It makes sense that it takes them longer to bond, when Lucanis struggles to express his feelings and Neve tries to avoid catching feelings, or at least acting on them, for fear of things going wrong. And while Neve's bonding with Rook shows more of her internal struggle to let herself finally have something, we have to simply accept that the companions simply aren't and can't be as front as centre as the protagonist in such a game, so we can't delve into their inner workings as deeply in that case. (Funny, though, how I've never once seen anyone say that Neve's writing here is inconsistent. Almost as if it only matters when it's our Antivan male lover...) There are always going to be differences in how characters are handled in companion x companion romance vs protagonist x companion romance. Their romance is very much side content that's supposed to make them feel a little more real. It's also worth noting that Rook's lock-in scene with both Neve and Lucanis happens way earlier than this scene between them. But here, they both had a lot of time to let their feelings stew, so they can finally reach this point. However, Neve still warns him that she's not going to make his life easy. A light reference to what happens when you romance her with Rook.

I've seen some upset over the fact that we learn that Lucanis hangs out with Neve at night if he courts her, as if he doesn't with Rook. But we already know this from Lucanis' romance with Rook! Remember?

We know that Lucanis and Rook hang out together around midnight, as well! That's not new information, but I wanted to include it, because I do think (and will keep repeating that) Lucanis' writing is pretty consistent between the two romances. Lucanis loves to be around his partner. We know that from both his romances.

This is what he further says about Rook when romanced.

Which means that he will likely sit nearby like a content cat while Rook sorts out and reads their mail out loud for both of them or whatever. He doesn't care what they're up to. He wants to be there with them. It's implied that Rook and Lucanis read together. "Nearing midnight: Reading," only appears in that particular entry of his log book when he's romanced. They stay up at night to spend time together, as he also writes down in his log book. And it makes him happy, "just being around them", which you know not only from his words but also the tone of his voice when he talks about it in that banter.

Anyway. Because Neve finally acknowledges that Lucanis is clearly trying to spend time with her for a reason and admits that "maybe" she likes that (The woman also can't express her feelings to save her life, bless her.), Lucanis is pleasantly surprised (He says, "Really?" and sounds happily taken aback.) and responds warmly and enthusiastically afterwards, because of course he does. Because IS THIS SUCCESS??? LET'S GO! He gets giddy about it, and it's cute.

Neve.exe briefly stops working. Then tries to play it cool. Nothing to see here.

Encouraged by his unexpected success (He was almost about to run away!), he musters a bit of charm here, haha. From the coffee date with Rook early in the game and the scene where he almost kisses them when romanced, we know he has it in him, but at this point in the game he doesn't really seem to believe it himself. He repeats it over and over. He tells that to Emmrich at least twice. ("I don't know what [Rook] sees in me," is sort of a sad thing for him to say when you think about it, honestly, and when you look at his romance lock-in with Rook, it's a pattern. He doesn't believe he has much to offer.) He tells that to Rook when not romanced. He says it in this very scene. Yes, he's an adult. He knows what flirting is and what it entails. We all know he can pull it off. Whatever. But he clearly doesn't seem to believe that he can do it, or that he's good with words, and seems to be more comfortable expressing himself in other ways, especially at first. However, now that he knows that the person he cares for actually likes him back, too? Hell, yeah, he's unstoppable now. Heh, sort of anyway. When you think about it, his charm here and elsewhere, for most of the game actually, comes from him being earnest, not suave. Just him being himself. I think that's demonstrated on the couple of lines above. Telling Neve that she makes his life better and that he hopes he has more charm than this is not some killer move. It's just him being honest and enthusiastic after finding out she actually likes him back, and that ends up being sweeter and more charming than whatever flirt line anybody could possibly come up with. It also seems to me that once he knows that the affection is mutual, he does turn into a sweet talker, as we see on his later interactions with both Rook and Neve. But he does it in his own way.

Once again, it's important to remember that this happens quite late in the game. This is not the scene after the ordeal of Inner Demons where he prepares the first dessert, still rattled. This is possibly after all his quests have been resolved, his grandmother saved, etc. (For me, that is the case anyway.) This is why Lucanis' demeanor here is a bit more relaxed in general.

I do not think that means that his writing is inconsistent. We merely see another side of him under different circumstances.

---

Now, I'd also like to talk about some of the banters they have together afterwards, because there's some fun information there, and they're also what I've seen some complaints about.

To me, the "inconsistencies" boil down to interpretation. Simply put, it depends on whether you can imagine two adults spending quality time together without having sex.

If somebody likes to interpret the banters as Lucanis and Neve being that intimate, I think that's perfectly fine... unless they also get super upset about it and make it a whole problem. I think the banters are written in a way that let's you interpret them how you please, which in Lucanis' case is a great choice, in my opinion. As far as I'm concerned, they handled it well.

It's sort of what a lot of us do while romancing him with Rook, as well, because there's enough space left for interpretation. While Lucanis' dialogue cutscenes with Rook are mostly tame, there's also enough space for the player to headcanon whatever level of intimacy they please for the rest of the game, because there's nothing to confirm or deny that.

Personally, for my own playthrough, I like to imagine that Rook and Lucanis share those shy, fleeting touches Isabela mentions after they officially start dating, share their first kiss after Lucanis' last quest/outing, and slowly get more physically intimate overtime, but make love for the first time after Tearstone Island, like it is in the game. So, as far as I'm concerned, I already have this idea of (slowly) intensifying intimacy with time for Rook and Lucanis. That's how I personally like it, and I think that any other headcanon people come up with for their own playthrough that pleases them is great - whether they imagine that Lucanis and Rook don't get intimate at all until the bedscene happens in the game, or that they break his cot in the pantry the same evening they share the dessert, or something in between, or something else entirely. Is the note in his log book about them having a pleasant late night chat or did they cuddle? Something else? Up to you.

My point is, you can easily do the same thing with the romance between Lucanis and Neve, because the banters are so unspecific.

Let's look at the most cheeky ones I've found.

Neve: So you and Spite are friends now? Can't say my money was on that one. Lucanis: I would've lost that bet too. Neve: If it lets you sleep at night… Unless this clears the way for new and different midnight brooding. Lucanis: I wouldn't put it past me. Neve: Well, find me at midnight and we'll test the theory. Lucanis: (Chuckles)

What does this banter tell us? It tells us that they spend time together late at night. But we already know that! From their romance lock-in scene. ("You find me at midnight just to talk.") I think this banter is a reference to that. How you imagine they spend that time, that's entirely up to you. If you imagine they're fucking their brains out, and you like that, cool! If you imagine they're sitting side by side, having a pleasant time, looking through Neve's case notes, and you like that, cool. If you think they're just starting to get physically intimate, cool. Because the banter does not say.

Taash: Hey, Lucanis. Lucanis: Yes? Taash: You and Neve? Lucanis: Yes. Taash: Nice catch. Lucanis: Thanks.

He's just as cagey as he is when Taash talks to him about Rook, by the way. It continues...

Taash: And Spite's good with her? Lucanis (Spite): No talking. When. Her hat comes off. Go play with wisps. Taash: 'Kay.

This one made me laugh.

But what does it actually mean? It tells us that Lucanis sets some boundaries with Spite. He's in love. He's in a relationship now. Of course he at the very least thinks about the possibility of getting intimate.

This can again be interpreted as Lucanis and Neve already being intimate in some way. Which also doesn't necessarily mean all the way - I swear that sometimes, it seems to me that people forget that cuddling and making out and other non-sexual forms of intimacy exist. Or it could mean that Lucanis has simply considered that this is where he wants the relationship to go sooner or later, and so he's told Spite, "Hey, if this situation occurs, be quiet and give us some space." This one definitely sounds more spicy and it shows that Lucanis obviously thinks about these things, but more than anything it shows that he asks Spite to give him privacy. Again, I feel like this is up to the player and what they want it to be.

I would also like to disagree with the narrative I have seen somewhere before that Neve rejects Spite. That's not the impression I've got from the game at all. I've never once caught Neve having a problem with Spite when she and Lucanis are in a relationship. (Though I don't yet know what happens during their romance when Minrathous is saved, because that's where I'm currently romancing Neve myself, but even then I haven't really seen her say anything that would suggest that she has a problem with Spite.) Most importantly, Spite clearly likes Neve. He even suggests that Lucanis should bring her flowers from Lavendel, which is adorable.

Seriously, his romance with Neve makes it almost seem that Spite is more competent at wooing somebody than Lucanis is sometimes, which is just so funny. This little guy, trapped in a world utterly alien to him, barely understands what feet are, but he knows you bring people flowers to show affection. I love him so much. While Lucanis' reaction shows he's probably never had an example of a healthy relationship of any kind for reference in his entire life. (Actually, from his reaction it seems to me that he perhaps simply doesn't yet know if Neve even likes flowers as a gift. Insufficient data.)

Either way, I think that when Lucanis loves Neve, Spite loves her, as well. It's not Neve who sends him away to have more privacy. It's Lucanis.

"BUT I WANT LUCANIS TO GET FLOWERS FOR ROOK, AS WELL!" Look at me. Listen to me. You give that man some damn flowers. He cooks for Rook. He prepares sweet treats for them. He invites them for coffee dates. He makes coffee or hot chocolate for them, and even though he himself doesn't even like tea, he makes sure it's in the Lighthouse for them. He would kill for them. You give the man flowers. Or rather, I'll tell you what to do: You go to Treviso, visit Fletcher, and buy that fancy tea (coffee) set for Lucanis after you lock his romance in, and you'll get that little cutscene where Rook gives it to him. Enjoy his romanced response. Call me crazy, but I think that's sweeter and more satisfying than the one line where Spite has to suggest giving flowers to Neve to him and Lucanis reacts like he's not even sure that's a good idea, haha. It's something wholesome and more normal that Rook can do for him to express their affection for a change, besides standing by his side through his struggles. But anyway.

Maybe it's because I like to imagine (my) Rook and Lucanis getting intimate at that point in the game, as well, and/or because I don't think that when two adults are alone in a room together, it necessarily means that they have to immediately get naked, those banters don't bother me, nor does it seem to me like the writing is inconsistent, especially because of how open to interpretation it is. If you leave your own assumptions out of it, the banters really don't say that much. They confirm for us that Lucanis has spicy thoughts, which I personally think is cute, and which I'm also pretty sure is already part of many people's headcanon for their Rook x Lucanis playthroughs anyway. They confirm for us that Lucanis enjoys spending time with his lover. And that he tries to communicate his boundaries to Spite.

I think it's also important to realize that these are two companion characters and we don't actually get any other romance scenes between them than the one described above, so they had to give their relationship some depth pretty much exclusively through banters and some rare mention here and there, just like they do it with Taash and Harding. (By the way, I also haven't seen anyone say anything about any possible inconsistencies with Taash and Harding, either.)

From the other banters, we find out that Lucanis asks Neve what her favourite dish is, and after she tells him, he promises to try and prepare something like that for her.

Lucanis: Neve, do you have a favourite food? Neve: Whatever you're cooking. Lucanis: There must be something. Neve: I might have a weakness for seafood and candlelight. Lucanis: I'll see what I can do.

He's clearly willing to learn and actively puts effort into his relationship. That's a trait that definitely also applies to his relationship with Rook. We know that because he remembers their favourite drink, makes sure it's stocked in the Lighthouse, and later prepares a matching treat. (He may even ask Emmrich for a recipe.) His love language clearly is food and quality time together. (And stabbing people for his lover, as is particularly clear from his romance with Rook.) That's how he seems to be most comfortable showing affection.

He also tells Neve that, during the Inner Demons quest, she was there to "sort of" help guide Rook through his mental prison. Neve tries to be cool about it and again ceases to function when he's earnest about it, which is always funny (and understandable).

Lucanis: Neve. In the Fade with Rook and Spite... you were there. I mean, not you, but... you know what I mean. You helped Rook. Sort of. Neve: Sort of? Well, isn't that flattering. At least I'm on your mind. Lucanis: You are. And not just then. Neve: I... oh. Well, then.

And he says he's not good with words.

Neve: I need to go through my notes later. See what the Shadows might find useful. Lucanis: Need company? Neve: No. But I'd love yours all the same. Lucanis: Then I'm yours.

Again, they talk about spending time together. That's definitely his thing. Lucanis also gives Neve similar "I'm yours," that he gives Rook. When you visit him in the pantry, he may say to Rook: "Did you need me? I'm yours." It couldn't be more clear that he's ready to be wherever Rook is, regardless of what they're doing, as well.

Also, a version of this banter exists before Lucanis and Neve start dating and possibly before dealing with Aelia. More casual, but similar vibe.

Lucanis: You don't sleep much, do you? Neve: More than you, but little enough. Still looking over everything on Aelia. Lucanis: If you need fresh eyes, I'm awake anyway. Neve: Maybe. If you don't mind the company. It comes with wisps. Lucanis: Wisps are nothing. Besides, you're better company than Spite. Neve: Really? Rumour has it I'm a pain in the ass. But that's if you ask Tarquin.

I think that's what Neve references when she says, "You find me at midnight just to talk."

All in all, the banters between Lucanis and Neve, and with a couple of other companions, during their romance simply hint at them having a loving relationship and spending quality time together. Consider that they had to squeeze their whole relationship into a few lines of banter and an occasional mention in dialogue and somehow make it believable, because unlike Rook and Lucanis, they don't have whole quests, outings, and many other interactions inside and outside of the Lighthouse, to develop their relationship.

Lucanis' relationship is definitely flavoured by his partner, whether it is Rook or Neve, and it's good that it's not completely the same for both couples, because they're different individuals, but I also don't really find any actual inconsistencies in their characterization between them.

I do agree that some of these interactions are super sweet and I would absolutely love it if we had some more of them between Rook and Lucanis and the other companions, because honestly I could easily listen to a hundred more, but it's also necessary to acknowledge that Lucanis and Neve are two companion characters and the few banters, one short cutscene, and a rare mention here and there, are all they get. And I think it's perfectly sufficient for them as NPCs. The interactions are lovely. They're clearly good for each other. But I also don't think they're actually getting anything extra in comparison with Rook, and I'm just honestly a bit baffled by the noise about it.

Rook as the protagonist has great chemistry and dynamic with Lucanis from the very beginning, thoughout the whole game, as I already to some extent described in my previous post. This post is already way too long without me getting too much into it here. But Rook has the benefit of being able to do Lucanis' quests, go on outings with him, be there for him during all the important moments (e.g. his grandma's funeral arrangements), have various interactions in the Lighthouse (e.g. Lucanis attempts to kiss them way before the dessert scene comes up) and outside of it. The Inner Demons quest is, in my opinion, the most intimate thing ever while doing his romance. They have banter together and with the other companions about their relationship and other things. We know they spend quality time together. Besides travelling everywhere side by side outside of the Lighthouse so often, they get together late at night, read together, are coffee buddies (or whatever drink you've chosen). Lucanis insists that Rook stay and tell stories while they drink with Davrin, wanting to hear a story from their life that he's already heard from others before, just because he thinks nobody tells it as well as Rook. I don't think that loses its meaning just because it's also a friendly interaction. Lucanis writes into his log book about them. He yells at Illario when he injures them. Etc. Etc. I really don't think there's any reason to hate on Neve, be jelly, or argue which relationship is more "canon". (For fuck's sake.)

Not to be patronizing or anything, but we, as a fandom, do remember what canon is, right? As in, actually established facts about the setting. As in, humans, elves, dwarves, and qunari are the races populating Thedas. Alistair Theirin was at the Battle of Ostagar. Magic and dragons exist. Treviso is in Antiva. Then there's personal "canon" that we each create for ourselves and those are wildly different. (And that's great about them!) For some, that means that e.g. the Hero of Ferelden died killing the Archdemon. Or that Hawke sided with the mages. Or that the Inquisitor exiled the Wardens. Or that Rook tricked Solas. Romances and optional relationships between NPCs fall into the category of personal "canon". Let's not forget that. It's so stupid to argue about which relationship is more legit when it literally depends on the player's choice. This is a reminder aimed especially at the part of the fandom crying that Neve's romance with Lucanis somehow invalidates Rook's romance with him.

As for them reusing small bits of Lucanis' romance scenes with Rook for his romance with Neve. Mostly this just means that he mentions her in like... two dialogues, maybe. It doesn't bother me, because to me that is the smart move, because it saved them time that they could invest into something else, probably more significant. I think it would bother me way more if they actually put unnecessary time into creating a lot extra content for them when I could have it instead. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it takes anything away from Lucanis' romance, because his romance and dynamic with Rook, overall, is delightful and consists of so much more than one short cutscene and a couple of lines.

Again, I'm not here to argue with anyone. Mostly, I think. I'm here to offer my perspective and also information for those who haven't seen Lucanis x Neve for themselves, don't have time for multiple playthroughs, or whatever, but are interested and/or want to know more about Lucanis for their headcanon.

Now, I'm going to end this rambling here, otherwise I'll keep adding to it forever. Pardon any mistakes or nonsense, I can't bear to read this all again, haha. If you've read all the way here, thank you so much for putting up with my bullshit. That's crazy.

[otp-after-dark]

I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that they’re still trying to gaslight us about Nick Blaine, or that maybe… they actually believe this crap.

I just read this ELLE piece declaring that Nick’s betrayal in Season 6 “proves” men will always choose power over love, and that his confession—about trading June’s plan to protect himself—was the ultimate confirmation that he’s no different from the rest of them. On the surface, the episode wants you to see it that way. The writers clearly want the audience to feel the gut-punch of betrayal. To close the door on Nick Blaine as the last “good guy” in Gilead.

But the thing is—it’s how blatantly the show rewrites its own history to sell us on this “lesson.” How do these fools not see that?! And proceed to continue to sell this complete and utter crap.

Because if you’ve actually watched the show—if you’ve sat through six seasons of this man quietly, consistently risking himself for June—it doesn’t add up. This whole storyline is wildly out of character. It isn’t earned. It doesn’t track emotionally. It doesn’t even make logistical sense given what we know about Nick and where he’s been leading up to this moment.

And let’s not pretend June doesn’t play a role in all of this either. Can someone please acknowledge that? Ugh. She’s not some innocent, passive victim of Nick’s choices—she’s part of this dynamic. She knows who he is. She’s made her own compromises. She’s lied, killed, manipulated people too. She understands him. That’s why their connection has always worked—it was never built on fantasy. It was built on recognition. And the audience knows that.

And oh yeah—let’s not forget in the end, he chooses her. He gives up his marriage. He walks away from the carefully constructed life he built to stay close to her. His last act is loving her, choosing her, and letting her go because he thinks it’s what she wants. So… what are these people watching, exactly?

You can’t spend seasons showing us a man who helped orchestrate Fred’s murder, who saved June over and over, who stayed in Gilead specifically to keep protecting her from the inside—and then suddenly flip the switch and say, “Actually, he just did it for himself.” That’s not a twist. That’s a rewrite. And it’s a lazy one.

You want to talk about tragic? How about a man who was trafficked into war as a teenager, weaponized by Gilead, radicalized by Lawrence, and then trapped in a cycle where every choice he made was a lesser evil. And still—still—he found a way to protect June. Still, he held on to love. Still, he looked at her and said, “It’s always been you."

What this article calls betrayal, I call exhaustion. A man pushed to the brink, cornered by a regime he’s been trying to escape for years, reaching for the only leverage he has left. And even then, he tries to explain it to June. He tells her he loves her and chooses her. He begs her not to look at him like that. To open her eyes and face it.

But sure. Let’s flatten all of that into “men will always choose power.” Let’s ignore six seasons of emotional complexity because the show suddenly decided it was time to close the door on him. Let’s pretend June didn’t see herself in Nick’s compromises, or that she didn’t understand them because she’s made them too.

Here’s the truth: this isn’t a story about men being irredeemable. It’s about writers who no longer understood the story they were telling—and needed Nick to fall in order to prop up the version of June they chose to end with.

Nick didn’t betray June. The show betrayed Nick (and by extension, June). And it betrayed us for ever believing they’d honor the soul of this character instead of using him as a scapegoat to make June’s “freedom” look clean.

So no, I don’t buy it. I never will. And I’m not clapping. And I’m definitely not rewriting history just to fit the finale’s hollow, cynical message.

[the-crooked-library]

I would like to point out how clearly remake shows us that Ellen is not satisfied with Thomas sexually because their sex scene which is shot to be not sexy on purpose clearly, also shows us that when Thomas takes her Ellen thinks and talks about Orlok and wants Thomas to be like Orlok aka kiss her heart. But he can’t. He can’t give her what she wants.

^^^^ YES this aspect is incredibly prominent, and a significant component of the disconnect in Ellen's marriage to Thomas! There's a few intersecting issues there, but they all do come down to the same thing. Ellen isn't satisfied, because Thomas is never willing to actually take her desires and preferences into account when they are together.

It's shown numerous times that, in a sexual context, Ellen wants to be worshipped. She has a dominant and possessive streak, she is extremely sensual, and these elements are essential to her pleasure. They also intersect with her desire to be seen and recognized for who she is, as well to be given the respect she is so consistently denied. These desires are all strongly discouraged - both in her time, and sometimes in ours. As a woman, she is expected to be deferring; and chaste, except for when her husband chooses. Her opinions and complexity are also never really considered; which is not unexpected, of course. Ellen is a Tragic Madwoman - it's Ophelia, all over again. If you recall, when Hamlet appears mad, the people around him assume there is more to it than his father's death; but when Ophelia does, everybody chalks it up to her father's murder, and nothing else. With all that said, what I personally love about Ellen is that, despite whatever shame she might feel around the subject, or her efforts to be proper, she always knows exactly what she wants. In part, that's what makes her married life so tragic - she keeps reaching out to Thomas, offering him these vulnerable aspects of herself, as well as an opportunity to understand her and connect with her; and she is met with one rejection after another. Still, she cannot ignore what she is - and her choosing Orlok in the end is symbolic of her deciding to "deceive" herself no longer.

Thomas, by contrast, is playing mind games with himself. In theory, he could be submissive. If he indulged that potential within himself, it could be a way for them to connect - considering Ellen's inclinations; however, he sees this aspect of himself as weak, emasculating, shameful, and thus never explores it - except by force, as per the usual gothic exploration of shame/desire, which muddles the waters in that regard. Much of the way he treats Ellen is rooted in the patriarchal rules he cannot bring himself to abandon, since doing so threatens his own sense of masculinity - and, by extension, dignity and self-worth. As such, whenever faced with a situation that might prompt him to be soft, emotional, or worshipful of her, he overcorrects instead. He is afraid of Ellen's perceived "abnormality" because of what it might mean for him. Additionally, he is fairly obviously queercoded, in a classic vampire-genre way; which, in my opinion, is yet another reason they just don't quite seem to click. Whatever he might want out of a sexual relationship, he doesn't really want it with Ellen - and, of course, given his homophobic society, that just piles on more shame, emasculation, and repression. This is why, after their one depicted sexual scene, when she laments her "uncleanliness," he cannot reassure her, no matter how he tries. He cannot accept the "abnormal" aspects of her, because the way he sees her is always affected by the way he sees himself - through a lens of misogyny, queerphobia, and horror. His care for her is therefore largely superficial; he does not know her.

All in all, I am obsessed with this aspect of their failmarriage. They're both so lonely and so desperate for companionship; but neither of them is getting what they want. Not with each other.

[sleevebuscemii]

i can’t understand people who believe or genuinely Want boris and theo to never see each other again after the events of tgf or that they wouldn’t settle into some kind of consistent relationship in the future because while yes i Can understand wanting to counteract shipping culture and ignoring thematic issues in favor of wanting your favorite characters to get nasty but. an ending where boris and theo aren’t together (in whatever sense of the word) just seems so unnecessarily tragic to me in a way that the ending of the book specifically wasn’t. like yes you can think all of theo’s problems getting magically solved at the 11th hour isn’t compelling but there’s no reason to read it that way, first of all, because above all the ending is just theo being alleviated of the suicidal grief that’s choked his existence for the last decade and a half and him slowly, very slowly, opening himself to the love and light that is in the world and in himself but still faced with the responsibility of building a better life out of that (which i think is beautiful!!) and thinking boris wouldn’t be a part of that seems so reductive to how important of a character he is in the story, if anything. it’s also like. pray tell what is his anti social ass gonna do without boris around considering where the rest of his relationships end up at the end, firmly rejected by pippa (good), on the rocks with hobie after everything (probably won’t last forever but still), likely to break off engagement with kitsy (and even if not then its like. stuck in a loveless marriage for eternity) like. he’s got no other friends, and maybe this is my subjective theo decker public defender lens coming in but the idea of him just like. going through life and making new friends that we never get to meet who will probably never even come close to what he had with boris is like?? what’s the point of that??

[tempests-bards-and-birds]

i think that one of the most tragic aspects of venti's character is the fact that no matter how hard he tries, no replication that he can make of the bard will ever be perfect because for a single image or concept to be long-lasting and static goes entirely against the nature of the wind.

it has been consistently emphasised throughout the game that "seeds of stories brought by the wind" will be "cultivated" by time - in other words, they will grow, but they will never remain the same as they were when they were first told; to try to remove that element of warping and artistic interpretation that is inevitable as a story is passed on is like trying to bottle up a storm and hoping that'll stop it from damaging the surroundings - instead, no one will ever know about it, and the only thing that it will have left to destroy will be itself.

venti is basically doing exactly this by trying to preserve the bard's memory - the only way to stop it from being warped would be to remove it from any kind of environment where that could happen, which would require taking the story out of circulation, which then means that he is the only living being who knows it in its whole detail and entirety. he understands, however, the fallibility of his own memory, as can be seen in how reminders of it seem to shake him; in his story quest, he seems strangely unguarded after resolving the situation with hans (whose story is massively identical to venti's for a reason - having a mirror can be very useful for storytelling, and genshin relies on it perhaps a bit too much), describing the barbatos statue as "the usual place" despite the fact that for our traveler, it is not (this ties into another theory that i am Not going into here lol). we know that venti prizes being able to keep a certain level of anonymity, with him describing the traveler's high level of intuition as "scary", so for him to show even the slightest level of disregard for maintaining his façade suggests that being faced with the reality of the impossibility of his self-imposed purpose is something that did really bother him (which tbf makes sense now that i write it out).

comparisons have been made before between venti and zhongli wherein the irony of having a god of wind whose appearance is unchanging and a god of stone who is (supposedly, if we assume zhongli's teasing about his own past forms to be reflective of the truth) in contrast constantly shifting is often key, and in a lot of ways zhongli's situation does mirror venti's in many ways; he theoretically has the ability to accurately preserve history as one would by carving it into stone, and yet it is almost as if he lets it slip through his fingers instead - he finds humour in inaccurate historical accounts and allows himself to change, not just physically but in terms of attitude (the whole point of the liyue aq is for him to be able to do this; to live as a mortal after millenia spent overseeing as a god). in many ways venti and zhongli are polar opposites, but the theme of wanting to transcend one's physical constraints, of wanting a state of existence that the other already in theory has, is consistent throughout both.

venti, however, seems to be so much more uncomfortable with this than zhongli is, and this awareness of the issue while still being so bothered by it to the extent that he pushes it away even more, causing the pressure in that jar to by extension increase too, is where the true point of tragedy lies.

maybe, though, by deciding to share the bard's story with the traveler, he is beginning to accept the necessity for change.

[cheshiresense]

Your latest time-travel verse made me rewatch Kyoraku vs Starrk battle over Fake Katakura.

I have to say, over the years, I have forgotten how sad that battle is. The way Starrk mourns even Barragan's death and loses his (already small to begin with) desire to fight after it... The only reason the guy followed Aizen was because Aizen gave him... friends😭 A pack. The only reason he fought was to protect that pack. Doesn't matter if that pack consisted of some shady individuals. It was his. The first and only one he got in all his 1000+ years of existence. He had no desire to strike down his enemies - didn't kill Ukitake, proposed Love and Rose to retreat with their lives... In a way, he and Ichigo are very much alike in that sense.

Starrk was too honorable and naive and paid for that.

And Shunsui killed Lilynette😭 It is so heartrending when Starrk calls out to her with no answer...

Shunsui's philosophy, on the contrary, allows him "to be evil" in order to win. Yes, he does not like war, just like Starrk, but IMHO, "as soon as the war starts both sides are at fault" does not mean Shunsui is saying that both sides are wrong in the war and to not fight till you completely disable / kill your opponent. I think, to paraphrase, it means: "As soon as the war start, to win, both sides *will* have to be evil / There are no good people in a war because winning a war requires one to do evil things, so someone who were maybe a good person will have to become evil to win". This philosophy, basically, is "to unbound his hands" (as we say in our language, meaning when something is used to make a person free to act), a workaround that allows him to be ruthless to his opponents, despite his pacifistic nature.

Anyway, emotional rant over. I guess I just wanted to share my pain🥲 I just hope Shunsui killing a part of Starrk's soul and the only family he had will somehow be addressed between them in the future in your fic's universe. I think it's just too huge to leave out. And the only way I can see Starrk never saying anything at all to his Shunsui in TYBW timeline - is because he is THAT much of a sucker for pain and/or THAT much desperate for a genuine connection with somebody.

Starrk is just a really tragic character with a really tragic arc, canonically he was never meant to be saved or have a chance at something better.

I don't know if I'd call him particularly honourable, if only because that doesn't seem like the sort of thing he'd really think about and adhere to as a Hollow who'd spent his whole life in a place like Hueco Mundo, not in the same way a Shinigami would. I think it was more that he just didn't want to kill anyone when he'd already killed so many without ever having a choice in the matter, and now that he did, he didn't want to keep doing that if he didn't absolutely have to. He was definitely a bit naive about it because it was war, and he was up against one of the most powerful and ruthless Shinigami in existence. The moment he decided to hold back, he was destined to lose.

For Shunsui, I agree, he believes that to win a war, people have to get their hands dirty, and you can't do that and still remain "good". I also think he thinks that it's disrespectful to not do everything in his power to win, because even if that means throwing away his honour, to do anything less means risking the lives of those he's fighting that war for.

Which ties into why I personally think Starrk doesn't really blame Shunsui for Lilynette's death. I think Starrk is smart enough and similar enough to Shunsui to understand him. And why blame Shunsui when he can blame himself? He's the one who held back from the start, he didn't fight as hard as he could, he even had the chance to kill Shunsui if he'd just gone down to finish the job after shooting him instead of just backing off after disabling him, or he could've even shot him somewhere more leathal like the back of the head instead of the shoulder/chest, because at their level, which Shinigami or Hollow wouldn't survive a simple injury like that? He would've also been able to sense full well that Shunsui's reiatsu signature hadn't disappeared. So that choice is on him, and he paid for it with Lilynette's life.

I also think Starrk didn't have much conviction or resolve, I mean I don't think most of the Espada really believed in Aizen's cause, they just followed him for more power or because Aizen tricked them or forced them, and prob with a side of hypnosis to pave the way. So Starrk didn't even have anything concrete to believe in and fight for aside from a debt he felt he had to repay, and that was quickly wearing away when he saw how Aizen didn't give a shit about them.

So overall, he went into battle against Shunsui without any desire to fight or kill because he thought he didn't really have anything he wanted enough to fight for, right up until he lost Lilynette and realized that yeah he did have something precious to lose after all. In contrast, Shunsui was fighting for Soul Society and to protect his fellow Shinigami, and at the time, he definitely understood that far better than Starrk did.

If Starrk had survived, I think he would've understood that too, plus he just doesn't have the kind of temper that lashes out and casts blame on others due to excess emotion; rather, he has the sort of analytical mind to comprehend the cause and effect of things pretty instantly. That would all play a big part in why he wouldn't blame Shunsui for doing what he had to do to take Starrk out. He and Lilynette were one, Shunsui would've had to kill both of them sooner or later, otherwise he might as well lie down and give up, Starrk wasn't exactly an opponent he could take it easy with.

In the time travel verse here, Idk if I'd make it a particularly huge thing, because for Starrk it's been like 10+ years, I imagine he's laid that ghost to rest a long time ago even if the loss still hurts sometimes, plus it's not TBTP!Shunsui who killed her, and i think he would've hashed out the issue with TYBW!Shunsui already at the beginning. Of course, TBTP!Shunsui is bound to find out about it eventually, which could be interesting to poke at.

But in Take What's Broken (Make It Whole), it'll definitely come up sooner or later. Even if Starrk doesn't bring it up first, Shunsui will, and even if there's no blame, I imagine they would at least have to talk about it going forward.

[motthe]

@crocgirl929 : Heyyo! Hope you’re doing well. Just wanted to ask what your thoughts would be on how Viktor would treat his Lumen after evolving into his final form. Clearly he was past the point of caring about humanity. Do you think he would discard the reader’s lumen, or maybe even destroy it? Or would his change manifest in his lumen with the reader flying away and abandoning them?

god that’s so many good questions… lemme split this into a hopeful route and a tragic route as to reach all points!!!

for both ideas i’m going to assume your lumen survived not getting sucked into the hex core when it melded with viktor!!

the angst could start as early as viktor refusing to let you follow him to the undercity where he’ll later create the commune. perhaps he excuses that he needs space after going through such a transformation, or that he refuses to be around you after the hexcore killed Sky. he does keep your lumen—that part of him that holds that affection is still there if not a bit muffled.

eventually he’d send word to you through one of his followers which scares the hell out of you, but you go to his commune and see the peace he’s created. there is something odd about him, in the way he holds you as you both talk about the last time you saw one another. when he explains what he’s trying to do, you’re wary of the consequences it might bring. you’d always been scared of the hexcore, even more so after learning it killed sky.

tragic route:

there’s plenty that can happen here. he could use his newfound powers on you out of sheer belief that he’s helping you only to leave you as a puppet of your former self that’s still somewhat there but not and you can’t even be angry. i fully believe after he’s “cured” people their lumens have disappeared, showing just how empty they become. Viktor will not find fault in this, but Jayce will when he finds out!!!

but before going down that hole, it could also go another way as far as Viktor knowing deep down you don’t trust the world he wants to build but still following him out of sheer love. he won’t question that, but after Jayce shoots him (of which you could very well just die here too, just saying) and he persists it’s not just him losing Sky in that last evolution—it could be your lumen too. it could be that your lumen leaves or that it actually disappears and he could justify it too easily that in order to reach that perfection he has to leave behind this fated tie and so it just vanishes and perhaps you don’t die (or you do this is tragic ya know) but you’ll feel this profound heartbreak of this bond just snapping in two and his lumen not dying but disappearing as the last bit of humanity that makes up his soul and his lumen vanishes to return to him and his version of “perfection.”

if you cross paths in his new form, he’ll apologize for sacrificing your bond, but he’ll do his best to explain why it was necessary in the grand scheme of things and it’ll just destroy you to hear. you’ll truly believe he’s gone, then.

hopeful route:

this route would consist of Viktor always keeping your lumen on the outskirts of his newfound power, his evolution with the help of Singed. Even in his “perfect” form he will still recall his affection for you and your lumen even if you do not agree with what he’s done. still he keeps your lumen with him at all times, perhaps even his new body morphs in a way to keep your lumen caged to him idk 🤷🏼‍♀️

it’ll be a key to talking him back to his senses as he refuses to give up your lumen and perhaps after curing his past followers he’s seen their lumens disappear and that’s why he refuses to turn you into one. you’ll be his one exception to perfection and Jayce will use that weakness as well as you to make him understand!!!

[whetstonefires]

So the thing with the Matrix for me, right, was I could never get past the assertion that the motivation for keeping humans alive was as a power source.

That pinged as so so stupid, and was presented so late and half-heartedly, that I could not understand it as a sincere part of the premise. Like. We're told very dramatically and pretty early that the world was mostly destroyed by humans 'scourging the skies' to block off all solar radiation in the effort to shut down the solar powered robots, evidently forgetting that all life on Earth is solar-powered also. Too comedically dumb to be really tragic imo.

So to pivot from the premise 'there is no life on earth, other than human beings, because the sun is gone' to 'the humans were kept alive as batteries' is an impossibility for me. Our ludicrous mammalian bodies, incredibly inefficient engines entirely reliant on continuous indirect consumption of solar energy to even survive, were somehow yielding a net output? Not only that, but one superior to nuclear or geothermal???? Bullshit.

I mean. Bull. Shit. I cannot. We just underlined in the backstory how all life on earth relies on the sun! Because life is expensive just to maintain and requires constant external energy input! We get milk from cows by keeping them alive, but that's because they turn the grass energy into something easier for us to process; no such mechanism is proposed for humans consuming dead humans and somehow producing a form of energy more useful to the Machines than just waiting for the corpses to dry out and then burning them to run a goddamn boiler.

This makes the direct opposite of sense.

It had to be in-universe propaganda, right? Another layer of the deception? It couldn't be the real reason. It was too implausible. Which meant I was still waiting to find out why the machines were really bothering with humanity and the Matrix.

I would have accepted without quibble the revelation that humans have special psychic energy that the machines were harvesting; that's dumb but in a comfortable, comprehensible, and above all internally consistent sci-fi kind of way.

I would have been quite open to the idea that the machines relied on human consciousness for their own development to true sapience, and the Matrix was primarily an AI nursery with the enmeshed human brains providing complex inputs, that one's actually cool.

There are a lot of explanations out there aside from the dumb official one, or the Occam's Razor one where they were just keeping some humans alive out of sentimentality! I'm really not that picky!

So anyway I never managed to emotionally engage with the Matrix films well because I had this unresolved 'motives of primary antagonist??? cause of fundamental scenario??????' thing making most of the actual plot twist and drama feel kind of boring.

My sister maintains that this is something wrong with me, that I'm refusing to suspend my disbelief and engage correctly with the text, and this constitutes a hostile, bad-faith and therefore illegitimate reading.

(She hasn't actually said this last part and I'd respect her position more if she did, but this seems to be the broad thrust of her emotional position when she starts shouting.)

I maintain that if a central plank of your sci-fi premise relies on going 'fuck the basic principles of thermodynamics and biology this is a vibes-based system' you should be very careful to avoid invoking the relationship between basic thermodynamics and biology in your core worldbuilding.

[tackletofset]

Dark Rise theories I disagree with and why:

Sarcean r*ped Anharion: I find it perplexing that many people still believe in this lie. It's canon that Anharion "had GIVEN himself" to Sarcean, and "the feeling of being taken, melting heat, and the fall of hair around him like black silk" is a very poor way to describe a noncon situation.

The on-and-off Collar switch: What makes you think that Sarcean wouldn't be dead by Anharion's hands the second he "switched off" the Collar, if it was as coercive as they thought?

Will and James will "dissolve" after getting their memories back and morph fully into their past selves: The memories serve as key to make decisions about their present and future. In order for Will and James to decide for themselves, they must understand the full truth of Sarcean and Anharion without the biases, prejudices, and agendas of those around them. Pacat has made it clear that Will and Sarcean will ultimately choose different paths, despite being two incarnations of the same person. The former chooses to rule, while the latter prefers freedom, and both choices are valid given their respective situations. The endgame should be putting Sarcean and Anharion to rest so that Will and James can move forward: Will must reconcile with his past in order to navigate his future.

Anharion's real name was a deadname: I say this as a person under the trans* umbrella. "Anharion" wasn't a name he had chosen for himself; it was an insult coined by the Light side. Perhaps he had come to embrace it out of spite. Just as Melkor (Mighty Arising) was dubbed "Morgoth" (black foe) by his enemies, and Mairon (The Admirable) was later called "Sauron" (the Abhorred), I believe Anharion's real name will be revealed in Book 3, with a positive meaning. I can't wait to call him "Queen (Real name)."

Will or James having to k*ll the other/k*ll themselves: Pacat intended to break the pattern where queer protagonists always met tragic ends. It was one of her motivations for writing Captive Prince and also emphasized a lot during Dark Rise interviews.

We will have a sad ending: Pacat stated in a December 2021 Q&A that a "happy ending [was] guaranteed" for the aforementioned reason.

James has no agency: James has plenty of agency, even amidst his complicated situations, with many people constantly attempting to violate his boundaries. James has consistently made his choices and desires clear. The unconventional nature of his choices, which may not always make sense to others, does not diminish their validity.

Sarcean was fully evil: "The Dark King did Nothing Wrong" nuff said.

[maxdibert]

"You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to," - Sirius Black.

And "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on." Also from Sirius Black.

How come he says these things that actually make sense...but then we see him viciously hating Snape? As if the man doesn't embody EXACTLY what those two quotes say? I'm not a Snape lover, in fact, I actually really like Sirius's character. But this bugs me so much, and I scrunch my nose up whenever I come across the quotes because what the hell?

And some other Sirius fans will see these quotes, agree with them, and still loathe some poor character that doesn't even deserve such harsh hate. I just - I can't I'm gonna explode

That's precisely one of the things I like about the character—that he has such a strong cognitive dissonance between what he knows is right and what he really is. I mean, Sirius knows the theory and believes in the theory, but in practice, he never follows it. He’s a person who speaks with words, not actions. That really reflects the duality between what he’s always wanted or pretended to be versus what he truly is. He knows those words are true and that everyone should understand that life isn’t black or white, but at the same time, he’s incapable of being coherent with his own discourse. He even says something like how a person’s character is shown in how they treat those who are below them, and then he himself treats Kreacher like absolute trash. He’s a bundle of contradictions.

In the end, I like that part of him because it feels very consistent with his story: he wants to be a rebel who fights for justice, equality, and what’s right, but his decisions are based on superficial ideas he doesn’t really understand. Deep down, he’s still an elitist, spoiled kid who was raised to see himself as better than others and to view the world as divided between those he considers his equals and "the others." And tragically, despite all his efforts, he hasn’t been able to escape that mindset. He may have switched sides, but the essence of his character remains the same.

Sirius and Severus are two sides of the same coin. The former tries his hardest to do the right thing, to be on the right side, and to prove that despite his background, he can fight for what’s right, but he ends up behaving in absolutely awful ways. Severus, on the other hand, has a terrible attitude all the time and, without meaning to—because he’s really just focused on his own misery—ends up doing the right thing. It’s no wonder they hate each other so much, honestly; two personalities like that could never stand each other.

[lord-aldhelm]

For the character breakdown: Are you perhaps waiting for someone to give you Aldhelm? Because I'd give you Aldhelm right now if you want :)

GIVE ME A CHARACTER;

and I’ll break their ass down:

Now you’ve done it… remember you asked for this….

Putting this beneath a cut so no one has a 5 mile long assault on their dash…

How I feel about this character:

I love him! I LOVE HIM! No, wait, you don’t understand… I LOVE HIM!!! I am in love with him! Like, I have never fallen so hard for a character in my entire life. And this goes way beyond just ‘he is my favorite character and I think he is cool’, although that is true. And it is so much more than just a physical attraction, although that is true too. I think he is very handsome (although many disagree but I don’t give a crap what anyone else thinks). His voice makes my insides turn to mush. I love everything about his personality, appearance, voice, everything! He is perfection, like to me he is the gold standard of what a man should be. If he were real, I would run off with him and marry him in a heartbeat! He would be the ideal romantic partner: he is so calm, patient, understanding, eager to help out, very devoted and loyal, cares more about his partner’s happiness than his own. I feel as a boyfriend or husband he would be very attentive and in tune to his partner’s needs. He resonates with me in a way no other character (or let’s be honest, real life person) ever has; I am wholly captivated by him in every way possible. He is my muse, my inspiration, and is everything to me. I literally think about him in every waking moment. He is the reason I have this blog (never had a fandom blog before, ever). He is the reason I write fanfic (never did that before either). I have created so many drawings and paintings of him, something I rarely do and honestly have not done since 1994 for The Lion King. Like, he takes over my whole brain and I HAVE TO draw him or I lose my mind. And in doing so I have gone outside my comfort zone and improved my own skills as an artist. Not to mention all the edits and gifs I have made for him (again, I have not done any of this before). He is reserved, soft-spoken, calm yet confident, unflappable, and has a quiet dignity about him. He is highly intelligent, clever and very wise, although no one in the show ever heeds his sage advice. I love his quick wit and dry sarcastic sense of humor; he had so many great one-liners in the show, and every eye roll or side eye had me in stitches! Although he makes a lot of indignant faces, in truth he handles problems in the show with grace and strength. He has a very strong integrity and moral compass, and that is consistent throughout the show. His absolute and unwavering devotion to Mercia and to Aethelflaed is admirable and heartbreaking at the same time. He sets aside his own needs and desires to serve others, ultimately to his detriment. He is so pure and wholesome, and loves with his whole entire being. He has many personality traits that are normally only seen in women characters, while still being very much masculine, and I find that dichotomy incredibly appealing. He is so unbelievably sweet and gentle, and the way he was so soft around Aethelflaed just melted my heart. And he was still so respectful and caring even though his affections were not returned. Even though it is so sweet, I think at the same time, it is so incredibly sad how his love is unrequited. He deserved to be loved, to return his feelings, and appreciate him. He never got that. He was mostly ignored and cast aside by everyone, even those he was close to. No one really cared about him, even though he cared about everyone else. It was like he was invisible; he was ignored most of the time. That is tragic. He presents as someone who is ace, or demi at the very least. I find that very refreshing and appealing. He does not oogle at women or treat them like objects. He does not constantly talk about ‘humping’, or say dirty jokes, or really say anything crass at all. His reservedness and shyness is so adorable, and it makes me love him all the more. He treats women with a level of respect and dignity that is incredibly rare, which really makes me wish he was appreciated more.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Aethelflaed mostly, even though she did not reciprocate his feelings. But in all honestly I wish that someone did; he deserved to be loved and he was the only man in the entire show without any kind of romantic interest, even though he wanted one.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

I really love the banter he and Aethelred had with one another; it is so damn funny! Although I don’t ‘ship’ them romantically, the show would not be the same without Aethelred and him.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don’t think I really have one, since Aldhelm seemed liked in the fandom. But at the same time, no one else is really unhinged about him, which is a tragedy. All the Coccham squad (Uhtred, Finan, Sihtric, Osferth) have their dedicated fangirl groups. Many of the side characters also get a lot of love. But Aldhelm, although a lot of people like him, they don’t love him. Not like the others. He rarely ever makes it to people’s favorite character lists. He hardly ever gets a mention at all in the fandom, something I truly do not understand, since he is so amazing. In fact, he ends up the butt of people’s jokes; they cannot SHUT UP about his goddamn hair, yet no one ever makes fun of any other character’s hair! It’s really old people, please stop it. In fact, I LOVE HIS HAIR OK! I think it is so cute, and it suits him! Another thing about him that I feel like most of the fandom would disagree with me is that Aldhelm in Season 2 was not as bad as everyone thinks. Like truly. Everyone says how much they hated him in Season 2 and then their opinion changed in Season 3. But he was not a villain in Season 2. Just because someone makes a bunch of silly faces does not make them a bad guy. For starters, his advice about waiting until Alfred dies then taking over Wessex and Mercia as king is not really all that awful; that is what happened in that time period, a lot, and at least they weren't plotting to kill him outright. Also he basically did the same thing to them; Alfred stripped Mercia of their sovereignty and made them a vassal state of Wessex. Aldhelm just wanted to get that back. The only issue is he backed the wrong horse. Second, his advice for letting Aethelflaed go when she was held captive by the Danes: Lord Odda literally suggested the same exact thing not even a few scenes before that and no one would dare suggest that Odda was a villain! All Aldhelm said was "Rescue Aethelflaed with whatever means necessary, but not at a price that cuts our throats", meaning don't give all our gold and silver to the Danes to recover her, when they will turn around and use that gold and silver to slaughter the Saxons. It is sage advice, and he didn't say it because he wanted harm to come to Aethelflaed, but because he did not want to sacrifice Mercia for one person, even if that person was the Lady of Mercia. Secondly, Aldhelm in Season 2 was NOT a sycophant! Please rewatch Season 2 and you will see that it is the other way around, if anything. Aethelred let Aldhelm do all the talking, and it was Aldhelm who made most of the decisions, and spoke for him in meetings with Alfred. Aethelred in Season 2 was just kind of 'there', and Aldhelm was really in charge. This dynamic changed in Season 3 when Aethelred gained some confidence and started making his own (wrong) decisions. And for those who complain that Aldhelm was stupid for serving him; he had no choice. For whatever reason Aldhelm started serving him (because they were friends, to get some benefits) the fact is he was Aethelred's oathman, and in that time period your oath was lawfully binding; it was taken seriously. You could not just break an oath without punishment. So he still served Aethelred, yes, but he did his utmost to undermine him at every possible opportunity, so he was using his skills and position to his advantage, which he could only do if he was serving him.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE; IT DID NOT HAPPEN OK! For starters, I wish that other characters treated him with more respect and actually listened to him instead of treating him like an outcast and an annoyance. I wish that someone (Aethelflaed mostly) reciprocated his feelings and loved him, gave him the love he deserved. I wish he would have become Lord of Mercia but that is probably asking too much lmao! In truth though, I would not actually change anything with the show, because everything was set up with him to tear at my heartstrings with maximum force, and I think part of the reason I love him so much is because of how he suffered (not that I want him to suffer)

GIVE ME A CHARACTER ASKS

[tryandbehappy]

I’m trying to understand the writers’ actions and I just can’t… They seemingly gave Osblaine a catch phrase – the “See you later.” Just like other iconic ships have one: HP has “Always”, THG has “Stay with me/Always”, TFIOS has “Okay? Okay.” The reason I thought Nick and June would end up on good terms (not even necessarily together) and resolve their conflict was because of that little saying. That they would use it again at the end of the season when they were going deep undercover, but with the hope that it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other. But then what? The writers use the phrase once in 6x03 and butcher Nick’s character and Osblaine completely… With no callback to it. I don’t get it, why did they bother to create it then?

Yes, you’re absolutely right. And honestly, there are sooo many of those lines. I could get tired just listing them all. Let’s just remember: all the things June said about love, the whole “love never fails” message the show pushed, that iconic little line “try and be happy, it’s always been you”, their dream of Paris and then that Paris callback… literally everything.

Cinematically stunning kisses: intense close-ups, kisses that last 3 full minutes, 10 seconds straight of her crying nonstop because she’s jealous or heartbroken over Nick, the 360° camera circling them while they kiss, constant visual emphasis, endless moments of June tearing up the second someone mentions Nick’s name, all of it was intentional. Parallels with Disney movies — “Your heart will glow,” scenes where he kisses her and she wakes up in the hospital like she’s freaking Sleeping Beauty. Some episodes are shot like literal fanfiction and full-on fan service. That’s 4x09, 4x03, their first time having sex; their sex scene at the Boston Globe and so on! I could go on and on

And let’s be real: people say they scrapped the Nick/June arc in season 6, but how is that possible when the conflict was consistent through episode 6, even 7 and 8? They gave us Paris parallels in Episode 6, they gave us the “see you later” in Episode 3, they gave us that incredible flashback, they gave us the kiss, Nick’s long intense look, that long moment where he holds her hand, the fact that she says “yes” to running away to Paris with him — all of it. Only one episode went completely off the rails, for no explained reason. So I can only conclude: they were deliberately messing with us. Pretending this was the OTP while secretly planning to pull off some big “shock value” moment. They wanted to be clever. They wanted a twist that would make them feel like geniuses.

But it was fucking dumb. It completely breaks the narrative. This is what happens when writers outsmart themselves, they tried to be fancy, and just ended up shitting the bed. And now? They’re panicking. You can feel it in the chaotic press cycle, all these contradictory interviews, and still no clear message.

And fans? Furious. Mass cancelations of Hulu subscriptions are already happening because people are that pissed. And that hits them where it hurts: money.

No one was asking for Nick to definitely survive. We could’ve accepted a tragic end. But it had to connect with his arc. It had to make emotional sense. It had to close the loop. What they gave us was absurd. There’s nothing to be proud of. So yeah let’s keep going. Let’s keep saying how dumb they were, because they fucked up badly

[hrizantemy]

Are you pro Tamlin and Pro Lucien??? Why or why not? I am both but I accept and understand when other people have valid reasons why they do or do not like these two characters.

I wouldn’t say I’m pro-Tamlin or pro-Lucien in the way that some fans are — I don’t necessarily root for them in a romantic or narrative sense — but I do find them incredibly compelling as characters, which is honestly more important to me.

Tamlin, for all his flaws, is one of the only characters in ACOTAR who feels genuinely tragic. He’s not an evil man — he’s a man raised in an abusive, patriarchal court, who inherited power far too young, and tried to save the world and the woman he loved in the only way he knew how: through control. And while what he did to Feyre in ACOMAF was wrong, I think what makes Tamlin interesting is that we’re meant to see him unravel, lash out, regret, and try to atone. I’m not pro-redemption in the fandom sense of excusing everything he did, but I do think there’s a lot of space for a good writer to explore grief, masculinity, and the cost of love through him.

Lucien, meanwhile, is one of the most wasted characters in the series. He’s loyal, funny, perceptive, and consistently sacrifices his own safety for others — including Elain, Feyre, Tamlin, and even Rhysand. He has one of the most heartbreaking arcs: born into abuse, cast out, manipulated, and then given a mate who won’t look at him. But he keeps trying anyway. I don’t think he gets enough credit for being one of the only people who genuinely seems to want peace and isn’t completely self-absorbed. I wouldn’t say I’m “pro-Lucien” in the sense of shipping him with Elain, but I think he deserves so much more narrative justice than he gets.

I do want someone to write a story that gives them the nuance and complexity they’ve always deserved.