#lmao ignore the terrible quality

[honeydewtual]

LULLET REVIVAL: BIASES (THROUGH THE ERAS)

HAEYOON & REMI

[hydrodragons]

the kazuven bff agenda is BACK (it never leaves as long as im around)

[psychicbluebirdmiracle]

[diabeticgirl4]

Love it when work basically tells us "ok your quality standards are probably a bit too high, why don't you lower them a bit it'll be ok :)"

[sexlapis]

toji and yn going to a concert together (masked up) and being spotted in the audience lol toji holds yn whilst the artist sings their hit love song 🎀🎀🎀

OMGOMH you know what..i honestly think their song would be ‘locked out of heaven’ by bruno mars. like it’s just so representative of their relationship or at least how toji feels and how he’s so addicted to you <3.

there would be a blurry low quality video of you guys where you’re both holding each other’s hands, swaying them side to side and singing the lyrics in each others faces passionately & terribly (so uncharacteristic of toji to most people). and then it gets to the climax of the song and you & toji just start making out LMAO.

& you both STILL have the nerve to ignore & pretend the dating rumours don’t exist🤥🤥🫨

[mxtxfanatic]

... Warning, rant in coming. Sorry.

Hot take, the only morally gray character in mess, that fits the exact definition of it, is Nie Huaisang.

I've seen more and more people trying to tone down Jiang Cheng's terribleness by saying that he's morally gray. I'very also seen those same people say that Wei Wuxian is morally gray because he did terrible things for good (and, no, lmao, he didn't. Most of those come from people not understanding how his cultivation works.) and that that was why he is so interesting. (Again, lmao. Lol even. Just say you don't appreciate depths and confuse "kind" with "boring", so you gotta give every character that you don't find boring a label to justify why you like them.)

I think the term "morally gray" has become a buzz word thrown around for any kind of character that isn't one dimensionally good or evil.

Jiang Cheng isn't morally gray. He is a bad person. Again, a PERSON. Not a monster, not some sort of creatures that has no concept of humanity, just. A bad person.

Society's habit of separating people that do bad things from themselves, that "us vs them" mantality, that dehumanization of bad people, it just leave a bad taste in my mouth. Even fucking serial killers have qualities, can be smart or charismatic or empathetic. Even pedophiles have hobbies and people that love them. Even rapists have people that they love and respect.

Being a terrible person doesn't mean that they're not human. There is no one in the world that has absolutely no redeeming qualities to them. But because of that separation that so many people take for the truth, because of that "they did this because they're a monster, but I'm not so I would never do this", people just cannot accept when a bad person isn't bad all the time.

They'll look at Jiang Cheng that, ultimately, loves his family and is arguably hard working, and they'll think that that means he's "morally gray", because he possesses good qualities, completely ignoring the fact that he's just a trash human being in general.

Low key, it pisses me off. Especially the people that relate so hard to him, and ask me if I wouldn't do the same in his shoes. Because no. I fucking wouldn't cause genocide. I wouldn't torture and kill complete strangers because they dared to have a surname I don't like or because they make me think of someone I resent from my past.

Like, I took can see myself in him, totally. He IS well written, and between the cartoonishly bad Xue Yang and the paragons of moral virtue that is Wangxian, he's definitely the one that feels closest to an everyday man, in personality if you ignore all the murders. I am petty, I hold grudges, I can be entitled and selfish, I am overall a massive rude cunt, but I do not want to hurt people and everyday I strive to be better than the last, even in infinitesimal ways. As should anyone. But that is something that Jiang Cheng doesn't even acknowledge, stuck as he is in his victim mentality and inferiority complex.

But Jiang Cheng is morally bankrupt. He is not morally gray. Not even dark gray. As an adult, he is painstakingly human and in general, a bad person.

And that is OK.

To make him a better person, you don't have to change his entire character with half assed head canons, just make him acknowledge his flaws and let him (finally) grow as a person, past that stubborn mentality he has had for decades.

He IS a bad person, but even bad people have a capacity for growth and change, of the moment they allow themselves to. If he ever gets forgiven for his past actions, that's on the people he has hurt, not that it should even be considered in his journey towards growth.

(Frankly, I don't think he would be. I think he shouldn't be, but that's not for me to decide. However, I can definitely JC finally making some tiny progresses but for all the wrong reasons, and get insulted when, if he ever even get to that point, his apologies don't end up fixing everything. He is totally the kind of person that would see you being mad at them and feel like he's the one being victimized because you didn't accept his half assed apologies. The emotional maturity on this man is below -100.)

(Also, Wei Wuxian isn't morally gray in the total opposite, in that he is such a good person, be it morally or emotionally, just. God, I envy his mental fortitude and his capacity for forgiveness and love.)

Sorry again for the ask, just had to rant somewhere about this and I am kind of curious about how you consider the "morally gray" argument. I think it's total bullshit, if the entire post didn't tell you, but yeah, I'm curious.

I hope I was coherent enough, I did not plan this ask at all, it was all streams of consciousness.

So before I get to the actual material of your rant—of which I agree with—I want to go on a tangent. Bad people as a category are not “dehumanized.” Dehumanization is the act of stripping someone or a group of people of their humanity as a tool of oppression, and it must come with material consequences. Saying that a continent of people are only capable of non-human animal intelligence to justify centuries of enslavement is dehumanization. Saying that a country of people are born terrorists to justify flattening their homeland and claiming it by a different name is dehumanization. Claiming that the man who called you out on your desires to be the new oppressors is a literal demon wanting to destroy your heritage in order to justify leading an army to kill him and his charges while attempting to remove their ability to reincarnate is dehumanization. Calling a child abuser a monster is not dehumanization. It is just an insult.

In fact, the “human traits” of terrible human beings do not need to be defended, because more often than not the absolute worst human beings are materially protected from the consequences of their actions by people who want to defend their “humanity.” In mdzs, I don’t give two fucks about Jiang Cheng’s one “human” trait of loving his nephew, because his “inhumane” traits of abusing said nephew and everyone else in his life intentionally overshadow that by his own design. Jiang Yanli loved her son just as much and lost much more than Jiang Cheng ever did, but she didn’t become an unrepentant monster. Humans are not “monsters-in-waiting” whereby we must act as if every individual is always one step away from committing unspeakable acts of depravity. If that was the case, we would not have survived as a community-dependent social species. Therefore, I do not find Jiang Cheng as the most relatable character ever because I do not find the way that he gives into anti-human behaviors to be relatable to me on a personal level or to be representative of most people’s actions throughout the course of their lives. To feel pain is human, and to have outbursts about it is understandable. To abuse about it? To murder about it? To mass murder about it??? Absolutely anti-human, anti-community, and the type of behavior that can only survive and thrive in an environment that privileges people with those specific “inhumane” traits above everyone else. (One might even call it the environment of a corrupt hierarchy of power that mdzs critiques.) The exact opposite of dehumanization. So if I choose to call Jiang Cheng a monster, it is to intentionally point out the ways that his conscious actions as a character in this story are a negation of human life and community.

On that note, I’ve discussed how this fandom uses “morally gray” in this ask (excuse the fact that I switch between “grey” and “gray” lmao). To bring back a point from my rant from above, Jiang Cheng has his one (1) good trait leveraged by fandom to whitewash his crimes under the guise of “morally gray,” while Wei Wuxian is the one actually being dehumanized by that same label as people use it to justify his literal murder (and those of the Wen remnants) in the story, so that’s my feelings on that. Whether Jiang Cheng can be redeemed or not, I frankly do not care to speculate because the story concludes his character arc at him regressing back into Jiang “hunter of Wen” Cheng, still rich, still single, and still only loved by his nephew. At the end of the day, he is not a real person and I’m only here for wangxian.

[3000-200-grains-of-salt]

eefo

do you guys wanna see the etho i drew during cherri's stream

its pretty cool. i love the way they draw his oreo hair lmao

(again, ignore the terrible photo quality i am currently at school and i took this with photo booth on my macbook air

[seriousbrat]

Seriousbrat… I admire your commitment to preaching the word of Mid Remus Lupin in this website… but you go so hard I’m starting to think you hate the guy… so I dare you to throw the stans a bone and tell us what do you think were the guy’s best qualities and compile a small list of things that he was above average at, if you can muster it. I double dare you!

LMAo it probably does seem that way! I definitely don't hate Remus. In fact I like him quite a lot. I also enjoy writing him and his plotline for this next part of my fic has been a lot of fun!

Honestly, I tend to cut Remus a lot of slack, especially as a teen. I'm not sure if you're referencing this post but believe it or not that was a list of things I find interesting about him because flaws are a good thing for a character to have in my book! I also feel like I defended him in that post or at least empathised with him haha.

The thing is, being a werewolf just seems so awful, in a way that's obviously difficult to comprehend in real life, that I find a lot of his behaviour much more understandable than I do the other Marauders/Snape. Everything he does has to be viewed through that lens. And despite everything he manages to be kind, thoughtful and brave and I do find that very admirable!

Moony's best hits:

Bravery: he's avoidant, sure, but I don't think this is out of true cowardice. Or it might be cowardly in a sense, but I don't think this precludes him from being brave in other ways. It stems from his self-hatred; Remus would rather be miserable himself than inflict himself on others. VERY SAD. But he's willing to put himself into danger, fight for the Order, risk his own life, live in terrible and dangerous conditions for the cause. I don't think it can be said that he's not brave at all, even if he displays cowardice at times. He isn't scared of dying for what he believes, but he's terrified of himself, which is a totally different type of fear and requires a different kind of bravery to surmount.

Kindness: I do see Remus as very kind in nature. He immediately identifies Neville as having potential but needing a little extra guidance. It's him that befriends Peter and includes him in the group, and I see it as the same thing. The moments that Remus seems less than kind (ignoring Snape's bullying, for instance) I think he is actively going against his own nature, but unlike the other Marauders he's aware of that and it does cause him internal conflict. He has to choose between possibly losing the only friends he might ever know, or doing the right thing, and that's a more difficult choice than I think we realise, particularly for a teenager. But I see him as essentially very empathetic. As an adult he expresses remorse for the way they treated Snape, much more than Sirius does when Sirius has more to feel guilty about, and does his best to be civil and respectful even when Snape gets him fired and is horrible to him lol. Which is something.

Cleverness: He is very smart, although I imagine at school this was somewhat overshadowed by James and Sirius. But he has a different kind of intelligence imo, one that's more understated and thoughtful. I also think his own brand of unassuming yet witty humour is what drew James and Sirius to him initially, once they spotted it. If you don't know Remus very well, you might not think he's particularly funny but he is. Similarly, I think he was a good, hardworking student, and particularly adept at Defence Against the Dark Arts. Again, he was overshadowed by the flashiness of James and Sirius- I don't think Remus totally minded, though, as he would have wanted to fly under the radar for the most part.

Thoughtfulness: I know this is kind of similar to cleverness, but where Sirius, and to a lesser extent James, is very driven by instinct and recklessness, I see Remus as much more circumspect. He thinks about the impies (implications) of things. In fact, he thinks a LOT. The Lupin brain is constantly turning, and his inner world is very complex with a lot of conflict that he's constantly sorting through. I think in part he longs to be carefree and careen through life the way he sees Sirius doing, but obviously his condition means he has to be very cautious. And this also means that he's very considerate towards others. He picks up on suffering around him and thinks about how his actions might affect others. A little too much, but there it is.

Honesty: This might seem strange given he has to lie and hide things throughout the books, but again I think this is him going against his true nature. The way I see Lyall and Hope, I think Remus was raised with honesty as a core value. I also think he was a BAD liar lol, unfortunately for him. This is in complete contrast to Sirius, who is an excellent liar because he was raised in a way that necessitated it. I know I keep comparing him to Sirius but that's just the kind of juicy wolfstar #Dynamics that I live for. I think Remus values honesty and the fact that he can't practise it causes him turmoil. It must have been a huge relief when his friends discovered his secret and he could stop lying to them; for this reason I think Remus would have been reluctant to get close to anyone outside of their group.

I know a lot of these are "Remus is X but he doesn't actually do it" but that's the point of his character!!! Remus is constantly at war with his own nature, and this is made literal through his being a werewolf. The contrast between who Remus is (mild, polite, thoughtful, kind) and the violent beast he carries around within him, the complete opposite, is the whole point. That's why I can't stand fanon Remus being this swaggering aggressive alpha male lol. but anyway

Hopefully that's enough! I also think he was loyal, obviously, particularly to James and Dumbledore, who had shown him unprecedented acceptance, and later, Harry. His speech about Harry on Potterwatch after parting on bad terms is always a touching moment for me. But I think his loyalty has to be won, and it is rarely bestowed. He just can't trust like that 💔

[echodoesstuff62333]

(ignore the terrible camera quality lmao)

:3 rot row who would've guessed mutating with unstable things not tested before would cause "defects"?

Just a silly au idea

Text if you can't read it in order from top to bottom;

Mutation Madness Donnie

Left eye enlarged + double pupil

Double arm :3

Basically normal shell

[mauesartetc]

Hi, I just want to vent: I've gotten huge amounts of backlash for posting my criticisms of Helluva Boss on reddit, especially about Stolas' and Stella's relationship-stating why I think it's a bad depiction of abuse etc. And while I've said things that were insensitive and out of line, I find it very hypocritical that many fans defend Vivziepop to high heaven and act like she's some kinda goddess of writing who can do no wrong.

It's clear to me that many fans are so passionately defensive of the writing because find Stolas and his experiences relatable, and thus they see any criticism of his character and how the abuse is written as a personal attack.

Not gonna mention any names, but I've seen certain people say things that basically dismiss all critics as "immature kids who don't get real mature art like Helluva Boss" and explain the inconsistensies and plot holes with handwaves that while plausible, ignore the rule of "show don't tell". It all feels like ass-kissing and refusing to acknowledge that your fave show has flaws to me.

I really hate the dismissal of any critics as "abuse apologists" when the show itself is terrible at handling the topic of abuse, plays abusive behavior for laughs and depicts things that are toxic as "cute".

I also want to add that some people have justified Stella's one-note personality by saying "real maturity is accepting that sometimes people are just jerks" I find that a shoddy excuse.

I don't believe that any person on the planet is a jerk for no real reason, because real people aren't political strawmen or enemies in a war-propaganda film designed to incite rage and disgust-they have reasons for their actions even if they are disagreeable. To me, the comfortable fantasy is believing that the people who hurt you are evil monsters who only exist to inflict misery, when the truth is that they are their own people with positive and sympathetic qualities like everyone else.

These are my thoughts, I would like to hear yours on what I said.

"Immature kids who don't get real mature art like Helluva Boss"

LMAO okay if that person considers Helluva Boss "mature art", I'm convinced they've never consumed any other media intended for an adult demographic, and therefore have nothing to compare it to. The only time Helluva felt like a show for adults (to me, anyway) was Moxxie and Millie's song in "Ozzie's", where they have the confidence to reaffirm for themselves that they don't need to be kinky to have a fulfilling sex life. That's a message actual adults can relate to and need to hear. But the rest of the show comes off like it was written by edgy teens who think they know how to balance comedy and drama just because they've seen BoJack Horseman. Spoilers- They don't.

You're allowed to like it, you're allowed to think it's a good show overall, but... mature? Is it really? C'mon now.

Here's the thing: When people know they have no argument, they start mischaracterizing their opponent's position so it's easier for them to take the moral high ground. Easier for them to "win". Oh, you're not a fan of this show? You must be an abuse apologist, or a homophobe. They make these claims despite having little to no evidence they're true, just so they can disregard reasonable criticism and retreat to their comfortable little bubble where no one disagrees with them.

And you see this kind of rabid defense whenever someone has developed such an unhealthy attachment to something they like that it's become a vital part of their identity. They feel, at least subconsciously, that any attack on that thing is an attack on them. Why do you think some sports fans throw a fit when their team loses?

This is partly why I feel it's important to criticize media you like in addition to media you don't, understanding that nothing made by human hands will ever be perfect. If you can get some emotional distance from it, you won't get heated every time someone expresses the tiniest beef with it. Because chances are, it might also be a criticism you've made.

But I think at this point it's best to just disengage. If someone's made their mind up on a particular topic, no amount of convincing will change it. Leaving the conversation (or not entering it in the first place) is always an option. Block that subreddit if you have to. If you think they're wrong, let them be wrong. In a few years, they might find some sense of identity outside the stuff they enjoy, or they might not. It's not really your concern. The only real winner in an internet argument is the one who has a life outside of it.

[trash-panda-writes-stuff]

My contribution to the cursed cat alastor trend. Pls ignore the terrible quality and the fact that i can't draw lmao

[purplemagics-blog]

MY WADE WILSON/DEADPOOL HEAD CANONS ⚔️🫔☆

There’s not as many as the wolverine head cannons  

These are way more trashy and low quality sorry

1.) Dog person. Like if this man sees a stray dog he is taking it home.

2.) Really hates having to do dishes. BUT living with a blind roommate makes him have to do it even though sometimes blind Al has to do it… terribly lmao

3.) Brings girls/guys into the apartment without telling Blind Al so she is forced to hear… everything

4.) ignores people or makes a stupid comment/joke when people are actually worried about him.

5.) Eats for the joy-ability of it but can literally go for months if not years without eating.

6.) Unreasonably good at braking into places.

7.) Gets very impatient but will take hours to get ready.

8.) He has a plushy correction of 300+ dollars.

9.) When someone he really loves breaks up with him he becomes a complete and utter mess just laying in bed under Bind Al comes and tells him to get his lazy ass up.

10.) He wears wigs missing his hair.

11.) When he was younger snuck out of his “room” and ate a bar of soap

12.) When he was younger he drank a cup of whiskey thinking it was juice.

13.) prefers almond milk over regular.

ANYWAYS, IT’S ALL MY HEAD CANNONS. THANK YOU. 

[creature-wizard]

as someone who does personally believe in manifestation to a certain extent, i agree with you on neville's teachings being blatant lies to sell a product.

the idea that we are constantly unconciously manifesting or that we are the only person in our reality/we can influence how other people act just by imagining is horseshit. how can you manifest something that was previously never a thought in your mind? how can you will yourself into being a cereblity by just saying it to yourself but according to these bloggers, just saying once that 'you tried and didn't succeed" somehow "reaffirms astate of lack"?

like you said, there have been instances of things happening that go against our understanding of physics, so i think there are definetly things that we don't yet understand but it's certainly not the way neville preached it LMAO. i personally take the aspects of the manifestation and affirmation stuff that works for me and i recognize improves my quality of life while completely ignoring anything neville related.

the thing is, the reason law of assumption on got such a rise in popularity in the first place is because people paraded it as the "superior" version of law of attraction that actually works. both communities are incredibly toxic but law of attraction at least involves working towards a goal. law of assumption just expects you to sit on your ass and play pretend until things come to you.

i think LOA is going to have terrible consequences on people who were unlucky enough to stumble upon it and get sucked into it. They will not be prepared for the reality of life when it inevitably comes crashing down on them and all of that wishing and imagining was for nothing. Realize that sometimes thing are out of your control and go with the flow. It is terribly unhealthy and victim blamey to think that you are personally responsible for every single thing that happens in your life.

I've had several ex-LOA anons talk about how much this belief system messed them up, and it's pretty comparable to the experience of being messed up by any cult or toxic spiritual movement.

And yeah, I'd believe that people burned out on the Law of Attraction would find the Law of Assumption appealing; not just because the Law of Assumption says that you don't have to work, but also because it it says that you manifest what you believe rather than what you think about. It's a small difference, but it's a little less likely to make you afraid of your own random thoughts.

For anyone reading this: If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

[faejilly]

hello!! absolutely adore your writing <3 no worries at all it not, but may i request an alternate pre-series meeting in canon / canon-adjacent where valentine is actually dead? always very curious about how malec’s relationship might change if they met and started dating Not in the middle of a really intense war lmao, so i thought maybe their first meeting would be a good starting point? but don’t sweat it if this doesn’t strike the fic muse <33

asdfjklgh thank you! so this MORE THAN struck the fic muse, but I got distracted by a tangent as to how it all Got Very Different™️and have not actually introduced Malec to each other as of yet but if you'd like some Magnus going what the fuck? at the Clave actually being competent this will hopefully be entertaining. AND ISTG I will get to Malec meeting! Eventually?

A familiar flare lit up his apothecary, and Magnus reached out to catch the fire message. The flames sparked brighter, and he blinked away the after-images as something heavier than he'd expected solidified between his fingers.

A single sheet of paper, cleverly folded up to resemble an envelope and keep the message inside; there was the unfortunately familiar black curl of a rune along the edges.

Magnus grimaced.

It was probably some horrifying form letter designed to intimidate him into something that was not remotely his problem, but he was going to have to clean up regardless. Shadowhunters didn't request things, they ordered, and brow-beat, and the only reason they got away with it was because they treated everyone equally terribly, including themselves, and to be quite fair to their militaristic grand-standing, the world was continuing to not be overrun by demons, so it seemed to be working for them.

Even Valentine hadn’t made much of a dent in their self-righteous arrogance. The Lightwoods hadn’t lost possession of the Institute they’d killed to get, buying clemency with their children, from what he’d heard, which was even worse than typical nephilim parenting. Despicable, ev–

He blinked. That wasn't the New York Institute's watermark, it was the Inquisitor's.

He tilted it to let the light from the windows spill across it, but that was very clearly the silhouette of a Demon Tower behind two crossed blades, not the broken stone the Clave had required the New York Institute to use after the Uprising to signify its failure to uphold their so-called sacred duties.

He huffed out a breath in not quite a sigh, and felt a frown starting to form between his brows. It was easier to deal with Inquisitor Herondale and her people than the Lightwoods. (She at least hated Valentine as much as the downworld.) But that didn't mean a formal letter was likely to be a good thing. Whatever had happened in the aftermath of Valentine's attempted coup had been kept very quiet behind Alicante's borders, and everything the downworld got to see had returned to business-as-usual.

He rolled his eyes, because nephilim, but ignoring one of their summons made them even more petty and obnoxious, so he turned it over to unfold.

And stopped again upon seeing how it was addressed.

High Warlock of Brooklyn Senior Scholar of the Spiral Labyrinth Ambassador of the Accords The Right Hon. Magnus Bane

They'd used a fountain pen and written in proper uncial calligraphy and if he hadn't known that the magic for fire messages didn't work on animal skin, he might have thought they'd used actual parchment rather than what must instead be a very high quality paper stock.

"Huh." He peered down at the letters, trying to think if he'd ever seen a nephilim address a notice to a downworlder in the same formal terms they used amongst themselves. And then almost dropped the whole damn thing when he realized that the initials scribbled across the fold in lieu of the wax seal that would have prevented the fire message from activating properly were IWH. And in the exact same calligraphy as the address.

"What the fuck." He spoke aloud, louder than he'd expected or intended, almost loud enough to startle himself even as he flung the whole thing out and away.

He watched as it fell to the floor, and he stared at it.

It still just looked like paper.

It had to just be paper, the rune to send it wouldn't have worked otherwise, but High Inquisitor Imogen Whitelaw Herondale had written on that with her own hand and sent it to Magnus as if he was an equal and what in all seven hells was that about?

He stepped sideways, unable to convince himself to look away from those initials even as his fingers scrabbled across his desk in search of normal paper and pen to send a message of his own.

Ragnor, could you please indulge me with your thoughts for a moment?

He'd half expected he wouldn't get an answer, not even another fire message or a call on the phone in the other room; Ragnor had been even more of a hermit than usual since the Uprising. (Not that Magnus could fault him for that. If he wasn't a High Warlock he probably would have disappeared into the countryside somewhere as well.) But instead he felt the familiar press of Ragnor's magic against his wards as a portal opened almost immediately in the foyer.

"Apothecary!" Magnus called out, still staring at the paper on his floor.

He heard footsteps, felt Ragnor's magic approach, could even see the shadow stretching towards him when Ragnor paused in the doorway. "Ah, you got it too?"

That finally made Magnus blink, the hold of the strange message broken. He turned his head and lifted his eyebrows.

Ragnor shook his head. "I think you need to experience it for yourself."

Magnus snorted, but stepped forward, picked up the paper, and this time he unfolded it and began to read.

And then read it again.

And again, even as Ragnor came to stand beside him.

"What the fuck," he repeated.

Ragnor grunted, apparently not having any more idea than he did.

"Do you think it's real?" Magnus asked, and he could hear the almost plaintive whisper of something he couldn't pretend wasn't hope in his own voice.

"Only one way to find out." Ragnor's voice was dry, but gentle. There was hope hiding in his voice, too. "Shall we?"

*

It seemed real the next evening.

They arrived in front of the New York Institute to find Theo and Gretel from the closest Werewolf pack already there. A pair of fae nobles Magnus didn't recognize, both in full Court regalia, one Seelie and the other Unseelie, arrived a few minutes later, just after the last lingering blush of daylight faded, escorting Raphael and Lily who were here for their Clan.

Magnus almost asked if any of them knew what the fuck was really going on, but did in fact retain his composure and instead just lifted his chin to wait. (He had to admit, even if just to himself, that he was glad Camille was off somewhere being Camille rather than here in New York to represent the vampires and make this whole situation even more uncomfortable.)

They didn't wait long.

The double doors to the Cathedral swung wide open, rather than the main entrance that led to the central hub of the Institute and the Heads' Office. The High Inquisitor herself stepped out, and fucking bowed to them, and Magnus made a small noise of disbelief that he would deny to his dying day if anyone ever asked. (He didn't think anyone would, however, as he had not been the only one. In fact he was pretty sure the only one who hadn't betrayed their surprise was Ragnor, though the fae had managed no more than a slight shift in posture or positioning.)

"We have set up precautions so all may enter." Herondale paused, and tilted her chin towards Ragnor and Magnus. "I understand if you wish to verify before anyone tests my word?"

Magnus stared at her. She'd just admitted that they had no reason to believe her. She'd admitted it out loud and didn't even sound upset about it.

Ragnor bumped his elbow, and Magnus tucked it all back behind his High Warlock mask. He nodded back as formally as he could manage before lifting his arms and letting his magical senses expand.

There was something inside that was still warded enough to prevent him from being able to tell what it was, but its power was passive rather than active, so it wouldn't be able to be turned against them without warning.

There was also an echo of banked power that felt suspiciously like Silent Brother -and- Iron Sister -and- Soul Sword which was a thing the letter had mentioned but he hadn't been sure he'd believed; (especially that it was only there for Herondale to swear on rather than to be used against the rest of them, somehow). Beyond either of those, it was also very clear the resonance from the Angelic Core had been banked, somehow, the blessing to make the ground hallowed had been covered and muted, and it was entirely safe for any downworlder to enter, regardless of age or power level or wards.

He couldn't quite resist a glance at Ragnor, whose expression indicated he was right there with Magnus and his inexplicable conclusion. Ragnor managed to imply a shrug with the shift of his eyes, and Magnus turned to their fellow downworlders. "She's correct, the building is completely safe for us to enter."

He refrained from suggesting that the nephilim in the building were trustworthy, as they'd all already decided to take that risk when they'd shown up in response to Herondale's summons.

He supposed the fae might not have decided so much as been ordered, but regardless. They were already here. And it was time to see if the rest of it was true.

The rows of pews were nearly full of nephilim in mourning white, more than Magnus suspected usually served in New York, all of them eerily silent, heads politely bowed just enough to lessen the weight of their attention on the entering downworlders.

Behind the chancel, in the raised choir stands, there were additionally about a half-a-dozen black-clad guards, an Iron Sister in gleaming white, a Silent Brother in his bone-dull robe, and the Soul Sword itself, the ruby glinting in its hilt.

To the left of the altar were half-a-dozen nephilim children roughly equivalent to elementary school aged Mundanes, only one of whom had the steady glow to Magnus' senses of a runed Shadowhunter rather than the flickering eldritch taste of angelic potential that the young ones carried before they received their first Mark.

Except for one small red-head just under ten who was familiarly blank, and he realized that the Inquisitor must have found the Fairchilds because that was young Clarissa, still under the power of the wards her mother had paid him to build for her.

He hoped Dorothea was safe, wherever she was. He hadn't felt her magic break, so at least he was reasonably sure she was still alive.

He swallowed, let his gaze skip over the draped stand centered on the aisle in front of him, and focused instead on the dozen adults opposite the children, each with a visibly red Circle on their neck, their shoulders all stiff in the distinctive posture of prisoners whose hands were chained behind their backs. Some of them he didn't know at all, a few were only vaguely familiar, but then there was Jocelyn herself, and Starkweather, and both Lightwoods, and someone who looked eerily similar to the Consul himself.

There was one man beside the rest with his hands cuffed in front of him instead of behind, his Circle rune dark and quiescent rather than inflamed, a Chinese Shadowhunter standing next to him, close enough the white of her sleeves brushed against his arm, with neither a Circle rune nor any restraints on her at all.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Herondale spoke up after giving them all a moment to look around, and without another word she turned her back to eight potentially hostile downworlders and knelt before the Sword.

The Silent Brother lifted his hands, the pressure of his attention clear even when he didn't say anything. The Iron Sister lifted the sword, balancing it gracefully in such a way that it tilted gently down from her grip until the tip almost rested on Herondale's forehead. The ruby glowed, and the flare of angelic power was strong enough to sizzle against Magnus' skin. Carried along with the magic was the Silent Brother's intent, and the Inquisitor's voice filled the Cathedral, both inside and outside his head, resonating in his bones and his blood.

"The traitor Valentine Morgenstern has been killed, and the only surviving nephilim members of his Circle are here to face their final sentencing, as witnessed by the Downworld Leaders of New York City, in this the soul of the New York Institute, a place most wounded by his actions. This truth I swear, upon the Angel Raziel and His Mortal and Immortal Instruments, as High Inquisitor of Alicante and Idris, Commander of the Gard, Elder of the Clave and Council, Head of the Herondale Family, Blooded Shadowhunter and Mother of Soldiers, Lady Imogen Whitelaw Herondale."

Magnus swallowed, ignoring the burn in his eyes and the faint taste of copper down his throat.

The Soul Sword compelled the truth from the nephilim, but all it required when they swore upon it was that they believed in whatever truth they spoke.

This ritual was something else entirely. The balance of the magic he'd just witnessed, a trio of complementary powers braided together, Brother and Sister and relic, knowledge and skill and power, secrets and vows and faith, with each separate piece enhancing the other two, meant that Herondale couldn't have sworn on something that was untrue at any level, even if she'd personally believed it all the way down to her bones.

"Well, fuck me."

Magnus snorted, barely stopping himself from giggling (possibly slightly hysterically) at Ragnor's sotto voce reaction. Not that he'd been thinking anything any more eloquent.

It was real.

*

The rest of the meeting was less dramatic. Even whipping the cover off the stand in the middle to reveal Valentine’s head encased in silver-edged glass had been less shocking. (Well, to the warlocks and fae, at least. Vampires and werewolves weren’t quite as able to feel the way the ritual had invoked truth magic against the nephilim, so being able to examine (and presumably scent) proof that Valentine was dead was a bigger deal for them.)

The former Circle members were all going to be deruned, exiled, and imprisoned, each alone at a different Institute so they couldn’t work together and their status could be verified by downworlders whenever they wished, unlike traditional prisoners kept in Alicante at the Gard.

There were two exceptions. One: Lucian Graymark, now Luke Garroway, was a werewolf, and the nephilim abdicated their authority and explicitly left his punishment up to the downworld itself. Second: the man who’d been standing slightly separate from the other prisoners, Patrick Penhallow, who had avoided participating in any of the Circle’s true atrocities and was the one who had discovered Valentine was alive and hiding with the presumed dead Herondale heir and promptly informed Imogen personally. He was still to be exiled from the Clave and Council for punishment, but would be allowed to continue as a Shadowhunter and would, in fact, be staying in New York City where he would be an official liaison to the downworld.

But only if the downworld representatives summoned agreed.

Magnus wasn’t complete sure which part of that was supposed to be mercy and which part was punishment, but he was surprised enough at the validation offered to himself and the other representatives that he did, in fact, agree to it along with everyone else.

That wasn’t even the last surprise though.

No, it got better.

Worse?

Magnus wasn’t sure anymore. He was going to tell Catarina about this and she wasn’t going to believe a single damn word he said.

Instead of re-opening their Academy in Alicante, the nephilim were going to train their children at the Institutes, and would include exposure to and lessons from former mundanes and current downworlders. The children there in the chapel for this meeting were the orphans of the Circle, whose parents were all formally being removed from their bloodlines, and this new generation would be raised in New York City.

Imogen Herondale herself was going to be acting as Head of the New York Institute with Jia Penhallow (Patrick’s wife, who had not ever been part of the Circle) as her Co-Head until such time as as the downworld agreed that the next generation of nephilim seemed sufficiently un-Circle-like and one of them could be appointed.

(That wasn’t, of course, how she’d said it, but it was clear enough.)

Magnus was mostly in shock and just nodding along at that point.

When she’d confirmed that the downworld was reasonably accepting of all of that, and had even told them how to contact Patrick directly with any questions or concerns, she slipped into something that looked like parade rest, and without a bit of warning that Magnus could recognize, the entire chapel-full of nephilim all stood at the same time, chanted “ante faciem Angelus” all together, and then they bowed, too. All of them, each with a hand over their heart, respect and responsibility and something that felt like an apology ringing through the air. From nephilim. To downworlders.

“Fiat justicia!” Herondale called out in response, and the nephilim filed back into their institute, and the black-clad guards very politely escorted the downworlders the other direction and shut the big fancy doors behind them, and Magnus was blinking at Ragnor in the street outside the Institute again.

“What the actual fuck.” Gretel broke the silence first.

Magnus started laughing, and nodded in agreement. That absolutely covered it.

The Clave had said they’d dealt with the Circle, and requested the downworld’s input, and claimed that things were going to be different this time, and it was all really, truly, completely, real.

[leggerefiore]

submas and larry when a s/o mentions they feel neglected due to their work? 👀

probably done this before for ingo and emmet but what's wrong with doing it again lmao

cw: light angst and comfort

▲Ingo▼

● His schedule could vary and be all-consuming. Ingo could have to wake up in the middle of the night to head in for an early morning shift or, worse yet, be on a shift for well over twelve hours. His love for his job was unyielding, and it was a busy time in the station… But, the loneliness could really come up when you feel like you barely see your sweet man or catch him right before he heads off to bed, utterly exhausted from his shift.

● It, well, it made you feel almost ignored by Ingo. He certainly made sure to try to call you when he had time or at least greet you and remind you that he loved you when he was home, but there was rarely any quality time-shared between you both. Ingo was obvious trying his best, but you could not shake your heavy feelings of loneliness. Even hugging the plush him you had bought as a joke did not relieve the feelings.

● Finally, you broke when he popped in late at night after having left around eight. Heavy bags were under his eyes. You walked up to him and stared at him. Ingo tilted his head as he shrugged off his coat and took off his shoes. “… Ingo… I've been feeling…” you hesitated. He was so busy. It was selfish to demand his attention, was it not? He gazed at you sweetly, however. Despite the obvious tiredness, he nodded along. “I'm… I'm feeling like I never see you… I want my hubby back,” you felt embarrassed saying it out loud. Ingo stiffened at your words.

● Suddenly, he brought you into a tight hug as he took admittedly heavy breaths. His thoughts raced. Had he made you feel lonely? Oh, Ingo hated feeling lonely. He took a breath in. “Oh, dearest, I am terribly sorry,” he moved to look you in the eyes, his own watering, “I know my schedule has been consumed by work as of late… But, I promise I'll try to get time off to spend with you.” His hand softly rested over your own. You hugged him back.

● In the end, he did manage to get a day off and spent it at your side, making sure all your worries and bad feelings were wiped away. Ingo knows he has a bad habit of throwing his whole existence into work, so this was another wake-up call for him. Unfortunately, this will likely not be the last one needed for him.

▽Emmet△

○ A few Depot Agents had suddenly left around the same time and left some gaping holes in the twins' scheduling practises. This is what led to Emmet having long days and nights out of the blue until they could get new employees and have them properly trained. Emmet obviously had his frustrations about this, but still found himself throwing his whole self into work. He would come home exhausted and give you a quick hug before slugging off to bed to sleep away his tiredness from work. You felt lonely after becoming used to the cuddliness of Emmet.

○ Having got used to the long evening or nightly cuddles from Emmet and spending a lot of time just physically near each other. The twin tried to call you whenever he got a break at work or give you some small physical affection when he got home if you were still up. Emmet tried to care for you to the best of his abilities, but he was too far spread out to truly do anything. Even all his Joltiks he asked to keep you company failed to be sufficient when all you wanted was him.

○ You felt completely upset one evening and found yourself crying and talking to a Joltik. The door opening and Emmet walking in had not even registered to you as you lamented to the poor bug type like it could help you. “I just miss Emmy…” you whined, “I'm lonely… I feel like I'm the last thing on his mind… I just want to cuddle and listen to him talk about his battles again.” The twin stood shocked at your words. He felt mortified. You most certainly were not!

○ Emmet rushed into the living room to tackle you into a hug, eyes big and mouth in a rare frown. His mind surged with panic and terror. The twin hated being lonely and could not handle the idea that he had left you with such feelings. “Darling,” his voice was a desperate sound, “I love you verrrry much! You are always on my mind!” He stared deeply into your eyes as he desperately tried to keep his hands on you in some way. “I will take a day off,” he nodded to himself with his usual smile returning. “Yup! I will. I will have time with my darling.” You felt more at ease from his words.

○ It was not long that you woke up to your sleepy Emmet still unconscious next to you yet holding you in a tight embrace. True to his word, he gave all his time to you on the day off. There was no escaping his cuddling. Emmet feels bad about having made you feel like that, truly. He struggles with his work scheduling eating up his time sometimes and is usually better managed. He assures you, as soon as they get the employees trained, you will have your beloved Emmy all to yourself.

💼Larry🏢

🍙 While he might have said his boss was restricting his amount of overtime, it seemed that truly mattered little. He was constantly dragged between what office duties and his duties as a gym leader, and it was rare to catch a glimpse of the everyman during his waking hours at home. When he did pop in, he was downright exhausted and just needing time to unwind from the stress of endless paperwork and battles. It was difficult to bring up your feelings of loneliness to Larry, as you knew he had little control there.

🍙 Still, your feelings could only grow worse and worse as Larry's work hours continued to consume nearly all of his time, besides what he spent sleeping. He greeted you when he came in and usually gave a quick hug, but it was more than apparent he was about to crash after getting in his last meal of the day. You felt bad, but you missed your time spent lazing around with Larry. Even just chatting with him about his day was something you missed dearly. It was still difficult to bring up with him. He obviously didn't intend for you to feel that way.

🍙 Finally, you broke down when Larry came in around the middle of the night after you had stayed up waiting for him. He looked as tired as you, but you stood across from him as he slipped off his shoes. You felt your heart swell painfully. “… Are you going to be working like this tomorrow, too?” you asked. He nodded. Swallowing dryly, you turned away from him. “I feel like we never see each other any more… I feel like we're barely dating,” you managed to get out. Larry's briefcase hit the ground as he froze.

🍙 He felt stunned. While he never really gave much thought about working the long hours he did, it seemed he failed to consider your feelings. His mind rushed with his error. Softly, his hand grasped yours as he considered his next words. “… I'll see what I can do to get some time off,” he replied with his usual cadence, “I'm sorry that I have made you feel that way. I just… Forgot that I have more in my life now than just work.” He looked away from you in embarrassment. You felt strangely at ease despite his awkwardness. Bringing him in for a hug, you smiled at him sweetly.

🍙 It was amazing that he managed to get time off, truly. Geeta was stunned when Larry had requested it but agreed. Which meant you got your lazy day with Larry. It was just as relaxing as you expected, and he was surprisingly affectionate. Of course, Larry proceeded to ask for his schedule to be better modified for your needs, too. Which meant no more overtime. Again.

[spacemonkeysalsa]

I got so very baited recently, because I am naïve in the ways of internet trolls. Lmao and all that, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that a lot of people really do seem to genuinely believe that God Gale is a good ending, and then I wrote 2300 words about the three reasons it makes me super sad actually. Writing is a compulsive activity for me, I kinda felt like I had to or I wouldn't be able to think about anything else, or sleep.

My bait would be that I do consider ascending Gale to godhood a worse outcome for Gale than ascending Astarion is for Astarion, not because Ascended Astarion is at all okay, but because Astarion has zero good options in the first place. Gale has a whole range, so going with one of his bad endings feels extra tragic to me because there was potential for him to be as alright as possible for any mfer in Toril, whereas everything with the poor vampire is kind of a negotiation of different scenarios of complication and misery.

Anyway, below this cut is 2300 words of me feeling heavy about God Gale.

God Gale is a Bad Ending (in this essay I blah blah blah)

Three umbrella sads (meaning big reasons containing lots of little reasons)

First) DnD gods are all terrible, and Gale will not be an exception:

The themes of power and authority explored in Baldur’s Gate 3 all have fairly similar messaging. To be reductive: power corrupts and those who seek authority over others inevitably abuse them. This is introduced on both high and lower levels within the story, and on the high side of things, it’s with the gods themselves. The writers chose to include Mystra, a pretty universally beloved goddess who is considered “good” by the majority of DnD players. Mystra is then depicted as someone who grooms and callously discards her chosen. We also learn that she seeks some of them out when they are very young, but that's not a requirement for grooming. The power imbalance between any mortal seeking favor and the literal goddess that they worship is great enough that any close relationship would be inherently difficult to navigate. And from what we see Mystra has grown disconnected from the mortal experience, to a pretty alarming degree, in spite of once being mortal herself and keeping many mortal chosen close. She is not handling this relationship well, and is leveraging the power imbalance rather than trying to mitigate its negative qualities. The significance of this might be somewhat lost on people who are new to Toril and the gods of this world, but a lot of veteran DnD players actually found this to be kinda scandalous/”wildly out of character for Mystra” and they completely missed the point that Larian did this on purpose. It’s a very intentional way of making sure you understand, trust no bitch. (in this scenario gods are the bitches)

I don’t really think there’s much of an argument that Mystra did alright by Gale—but people do try to make it. I’m ignoring them for now. Resting on the assumption that we recognize that what Mystra did to Gale (both prior to the events of the game, and within the game’s narrative) was 100% not ok, I think it’s important to remember that there are endings in which Gale goes to Elysium with Mystra, has the orb removed, is even restored back to his original body from being a mindflayer ect. By all appearances, Gale seems pretty happy with this when it happens. But knowing what we know, he shouldn’t be. He deserves better. I actually love this—I mean, it’s awful and upsetting, but it’s perfectly tragic and appropriate for Gale. He’s not above delusion and weakness and mortal failings. He can become a god, and I actually don’t think I need to make much of an argument for why I don’t believe he would be an exception, because there is no exception, to this particular rule. Even Withers, by and large depicted as helpful, is aloof and ultimately responsible for the Dead Three being such menaces in the first place.

But, I’ll make the argument that Gale can’t be an exception anyway. Or, I’ll let Gale make it for me, by just saying that if you let him ascend to godhood and then talk to him about it at the epilogue party, it’s already pretty clear that he’s not an exception at all. He’s making excuses, he’s disconnected, he’s neglectful and unfeeling. I actually think it’s clearer to see when you aren’t in a relationship with him than when you are, which also feels right. His prior experience with serious relationships was with a goddess who made him her chosen so there’s probably some sense of romance to making his partner feel singled out that he might not even realize he’s performing. To the rest of the world he might be just another god with a domain that can be used for good or ill and who doesn’t concern himself with mortal suffering, but you know “the real him” and you know he’s good to you and that’s all you need to know.

Second) He knows now that he wasn’t enough as he was:

Gale’s desire for power seems like it’s something he’s innately had for a long time, but so is his sweetness and his ability to come down hard on himself for his failings. This is really nicely encapsulated in the letter that you get from Elminster at the epilogue party when he ascends, in which Elminster expresses his regrets over the part he played in Gale’s fate. (I’m just going to glide right past the fact that Elminster, Tara and implicitly Gale’s mother all think his ascension is bad, I do think that’s evidence, but I want to focus on my reasons, not theirs). To sum up, the letter describes Elimnster’s first encounter with Gale, featuring the eight year old wizard accidentally destroying flowers with Fireball and being very upset about it. To do a quick and dirty analysis of the coding here:

Flowers = good and beautiful things (also, the natural world and by extension the mortals in it)

Crying = Gale’s better nature showing through (empathy, something gods repeatedly suck at)

Fireball = power/harm he’s capable of, and power and harm are equivalent (supernatural/godly power and its destructive force against mortals)

That better nature is what we’re always trying to get at with Gale, and they make it pretty difficult because he’s the platonic ideal of a true neutral. And a) alignment in DnD can be difficult to understand, plenty of good characters do horribly immoral things without their alignment shifting, because what constitutes evil is relative to their “chaos—-lawful” positioning and b) I think people who believe Gale to be good aligned need to commit to an evil playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, keep him in the party, keep him close, and talk to him often, because he is so frighteningly good at making excuses for you as you play the role of an edgelord anime monster. He’s desperate and way more comfortable with all this than you might think, because he’s in the trenches now. When I killed Isobel in my embraced durge run, I would rate Gale’s reaction to that as being slightly less upset than Astarion and Minthara. Everyone hates it though, no one is ok with you killing Isobel, most of them straight up tell you’re a fucking idiot for doing it. Gale’s a bit less harsh. He’s “not sure” it was a good idea.

This isn’t related, but I just realize I REALLY want to hear Gale call me an idiot, is that anywhere in the game? Can someone tell me? Oh god, has this awakened something in me? Anyway, his better nature is someone who is both confident and capable, but no longer reaching for the next horizon, and the next one after that, no longer under the impression that he needs to obtain something unobtainable to be considered worthy of love. He’s still connected to the beauty of mortal experience, and still empathetic. He can cherish what he has and who he is, rather than serving ambition over all. The ending where he becomes a god is validation of his beliefs that he is inadequate as he is. You can fanfic a future in which the opportunity to prove otherwise arises (I did) but that’s where the game leaves you with him. There is no more. The Fireball and the power it demonstrated was more important than the flowers.

Three) He is not making you his equal, he’s the god of ambition and you are a mortal consort just like he was to Mystra:

This is probably going to be the “I was with you until” part. Sorry, it involves DnD lore.

I appreciate that most people simply will not be open to the idea that they misinterpreted what happens with Gale at the end of the game if you romance him, ascend him, and then go with him to Elysium. The “I know what I saw” of it all is really hard to overcome, but: 

I don’t actually feel like writing up an eh “academic” explanation of this again and I can’t find the email where I ranted about it to someone in private, so here’s an excerpt from my Wyll/Gale fic (it’s not posted yet, it’s going to be long and I’m editing) where I included the idea in a way that I hope is more entertaining than if I just wrote out an explanation of how DnD gods are made. Please don’t be too weirded out by the fact that it’s a conversation between Minthara and Wyll and that Wyll is in disguise but Minthara knows it’s him, and is implied to have gone to hell with her girlfriend Karlach, I promise all that makes sense in context:

~

“I must admit, I was surprised to learn that when Gale offered to bring you with him to Elysium, you refused him.”

“Who’ve you been talking to?” Wyll had confided in precious few people about that, and Minthara certainly wasn’t one of them, but then he realized the question was foolish. Karlach had been there for him right after, when his heart was broken. No one knew that feeling better than she did.

“Who else?” Minthara challenged, she had a peculiar look on her face and seemed eager to look away quickly. Then he remembered, she probably found the glamour off-putting.

“The two of you really care deeply for each other.” Wyll remarked.

“She cares for me in spite of her better judgment, in spite of her very nature, it seems at times,” Minthara mused, “I will conquer every layer of hell for her, as that is what is required.” Her eyes traveled pointedly over the collection of tents around them. A mere fraction of her company, but a formidable group of handpicked soldiers.

“Is that what this is all about? Gathering an army?” It wasn’t a bad use of the Eltan’s funds either. Wyll hadn’t expected to approve of Minthara’s mercenary endeavors, but here they were.

“It will take a lot more than soldiers—even very disciplined ones—to defeat archdevil legions. But, it is a start. One certainly cannot expect to raze the hells without soldiers.” Minthara took a long drag on her pipe, red eyes alight with the glow of the fire. “But, we were talking about you,” she gave him one of her accusing smiles. “You just and righteous types do so love to hide the subtle manipulation of changing the subject under the guise of genuine interest in others.”

“I am genuinely interested,” Wyll felt the burn of a blush. The drow was half right, after all. “I don’t know if there’s hope for the hells to ever be more than pure despair, but any improvements would have to come by way of a regime change. I wish you both every good fortune in your efforts.” He cleared his throat, “but fine. What did you want to know about it?”

“I believe I already know why you refused Gale. I would like validation, or a correction, if I’m wrong. But I rarely am.”

Wyll’s guts twisted a little. It wasn’t comfortable to imagine Minthara thinking about his ill-fated romance with the god of ambition, let alone having theories about why it had gone so poorly in the end. “Go on then. Out with it.” He steeled himself for what he imagined would be nothing less than agonizing insight into one of his most painful memories.

“You knew he was lying,” said Minthara simply.

Wyll released the breath he’d been holding and began to nod along as she continued.

“To become a god, one needs, at a minimum, extraordinary power, domain and worship. Sponsorship from another god doesn’t hurt, but if the gods were allowed to simply ascend anyone they lay with, the heavens would be chaos. Ao would never make such an exception.” Minthara smacked her pipe against her hand, loosening the remaining contents and letting the dust fall into the fire with a flare.

“My reasoning was more complex and nuanced than that,” Wyll said quietly, “but you are not wrong. I like to think that such a blatant deception would be above Gale, but I cannot say that I would put it past him to perhaps… put more stock into my ambitions than he should. I think if I’d gone with him, we would have had a few blissful days of happy reunion, and then it would be time to plan the process of my true ascension. I would have to approach it with a detailed mapping of how to acquire what I needed and ascend on my own merits. It would have been a pursuit for something I did not want, that would have likely failed, and cost me the remainder of my life. Everything else I held dear, everything I had worked towards, I would have to abandon. I loved Gale, but to ask that of me—I saw in that moment that he was too blinded by his own desires to understand the sacrifice he demanded, and the impossible expectations he was putting on me. On both of us, if I’m honest.” And he hated to even think about the alternative possibility, but if he was ever going to allow himself enough cynicism to voice it outloud, it might as well be in the presence of the exile Minthara. “Or. There’s always the possibility that he’d actually grown arrogant enough to think he could defy Ao and just… get away with it. In which case, he would have condemned us both to a fate of going to war with the gods and dying ignominiously. For what? I don’t want to be a god, and I never needed him to be one either. He was the one who decided it was a prerequisite to our just… being together.”

“To your first set of excuses, I would say you are being too generous,” Minthara narrowed her gaze at him and took a deep breath before she said, “but to your second, darker accusations, I think you are being too harsh. Gale may be arrogant, but he is also highly intelligent. Intentionally defying Ao would be very stupid indeed.”

“Not like defying devils.”

“Not at all,” Minthara grinned wickedly. “Devils live to be defied. That’s why they’re all so tolerant of coups in the hells. But the denizens of the heavens demand obedience, loyalty, deference, and they are not forgiving of defiance.”

Wyll found he felt better. Just having said all that outloud had made the tension between his shoulders loosen. For all her blatant tolerance of every evil, Minthara’s particular brand of judgment certainly left one feeling anything but judged. 

“Karlach was worried for you. As she would be. She saw your pain and wanted to make it better for you. But I was…. Proud of you. For whatever that’s worth. The choice was between pain, or lies. You would not live in a delusion, though it may have been very pleasant for a while.”

~

Yeah, basically that. You can argue he might be encouraging you to become his equal, but it could just as easily be framed as him requiring you to become such, in order to be worthy of being with him, and at no small personal cost.