#loved the show for not going the cliched route with these two and actually using Sam to offer social commentary

[warningsine]

[eideticmemory]

LATE NIGHT TALKING | MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

The best man and maid of honor hooking up? How cliche!!

Word Count: 8k

Warning/Includes: Ridiculous amounts of flirting. Very “omg just fuck him and get it over with” vibes. The wedding of a fictional couple that I got way too invested in! Smut! Named after this song because I was listening to it when I got the request lmao.

Shout out to Matthew for literally being in someone’s wedding while I was writing this. I love you, baby ❤️

Hattie Welsh is a city girl. She was born and raised downtown where she would walk herself to school during the week and had a route for maximum weekend shopping. An only child to two parents, a dad who stayed home when it was Not the norm, she got anything and everything she ever wanted. Her dad would meet her on the front porch with her bike after school and they'd cruise around the neighborhood. On weekends, all three of them would take the 10 minute drive to the local park where they'd bike the same 8 miles every Saturday. At the end of the trail was an ice cream shop. Birthday cake was her favorite. She'd get three scoops in a cone but her dad would always end up finishing the last scoop for her.

It was memories like these that inspired Hattie to use her business degree to open an outdoor supply company. She named it after her parents. Alan & Eva's Co-op. It started very local. But Hattie was always good with promotion. She had an excellent marketing team and connections formed around the state. A year into business and Alan & Eva had three locations.

With this sudden growth, Hattie had to seek out more intensive financial advisement and she requested the services of LF Corporation - financial consultants of companies like North Face and REI.

This is how she met Cole Briggs.

Cole was sent to meet with Alan & Eva's CEO. He knew her name, he knew her qualifications, he knew the context of their meeting. He did not know how gorgeous she was so he was immediately caught off guard. His palms were sweaty by the time they shook hands.

"Oh, wow!" he remarked as he saw the bike mounted on her wall. "A Schwinn? I had the same one as a kid but in green!"

"Oh my gosh, yes! That's actually my childhood bike!" she beamed. She leaned over her desk with a bright smile. "I've kinda outgrown it."

He laughed, "I grew up in Pullen Park neighborhood so my friends and I would ride the trail at-"

"Warren park?" she gasped. "My parents and I used to go every weekend, still do!"

"No way! Where-where are your parents?"

"Downtown, near the natural science museum."

"Ah, yeah, yeah. We didn't get downtown often but we would occasionally have family dinner nights at Kaleidoscope."

"Oh, we love kaleidoscope. The lobster-"

'Mac and cheese! Are you kidding? I can inhale it in one bite. Sometimes my dad would pick it up for me on the way home.”

She cackled. She looked at him lovesick. "How have we never met?"

"What high school did you go to?"

"Hollis. You?"

"Ah, okay. I went to the Day School."

"Ooh, fancy pants."

Blush crept over his face and flustered, he set out his briefcase and took a deep breath. "So you're looking into financial assistance for all three locations?"

She stared at him for a moment, "That's right."

And that was it.

Immediately after Cole left the room, she called you. Her best friend, her confidant, her person. You had your hands busy at work so you tucked the phone between your ear and shoulder, “Hello?"

"[y /n]! Hi, you busy?"

"Uh, a little. But I can chat. What's up?"

"I think I just met my husband."

You paused. "Okay, I'm not busy."

Cole proposed while they were on a hike. A week before, he had asked for your blessing. He said, "You'll be the first one she calls so I just didn't want you to be surprised."

Though, when she facetimed you to show you the diamond rock, you still pretended to be surprised.

A formal ask to be her maid of honor was completely unnecessary. You were born to do it. Who else would it be? Still, she made you the cutest basket, filled with perfume, a travel mug, some candles, some candy. You happily accepted.

And happily planned her engagement party and bridal shower and bachelorette party. You got the dress she wanted you to wear. And when the weekend finally arrived, you traveled nearly an hour into the country to get to the wedding venue.

10 acres of privately owned land sequestered down a dirt road. The ceremony site was a simple platform with an arbor placed in front of rows of benches. Surrounded by trees. Hiding right beside it is a wooden home designated for the newlyweds. The reception site is about a mile away, covered by a tent. There is a garden of roses and daisies. Further down the property is a large barn with rows of tents. It is absolutely everything Cole and Hattie wanted. It is so them.

You help set up for the rehearsal dinner. The parents of the bride and groom have arrived. Your friends and fellow bridesmaids are mingling with the groomsmen. Hattie would be so much more stressed without Opal. Opal is a an older woman, short but strong and a prolific wedding planner. She ushers the men around like pieces on a chess board and directs the caterers without so much as a glance.

As you chat with the happy couple, she calls, "Cole." It's not exactly friendly. She marches up and takes a firm hold of his arm.

"Yes, ma'am?" Cole shakes and Hattie glances over at you with a small smirk. You have to contain your laughter.

"Where is the best man? We are way behind schedule and losing daylight."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. He had to fly in but last I heard he was on the road from the airport."

"Okay, can I get an ETA on that?"

"I, uh...I don't... have one."

"Babe!" Hattie whines.

"Hey, I'm sorry! Look," he glances at all three of you, intimidated by your pressed faces. "T'll give him a call."

"Wonderful idea," Opal watches closely as he steps away, his phone in his hand, quickly pressed to his ear. She turns away from Hattie, mumbling,

"You update me on that, okay?"

"Yes, Opal," she nods and turns to you with a huff.

You giggle, "Are you sure this guy's real?"

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Okay, well," you throw your hands up in a shrug, "Can't we just start without him? It's hot and we're supposed to be eating already."

"No, we can't. It throws off the flow of the ceremony. Plus, Cole really wants him here."

"Mhm and where is this guy coming from again?"

"Matthew."

"Huh?"

"His name is Matthew."

"Okay. Where is Matthew coming from?"

"New York. I told you he's an actor."

"Yes, yes," you roll your eyes. "Surprised he could find time in his busy schedule to come to his friend's wedding."

"He loves Cole. Cole loves him. More than me, I think. They've known each other forever."

'Mhm. Quick question, does Matthew know Cole's getting married tomorrow?"

She shakes her head and laughs, beaming at Cole as he walks back over. "Hi, baby. Did you talk to him?"

"Uh...no..." he feels bad saying it. "But! I'm sure he'll be here any second."

"Cole!" it's a shriek from the distance that instantly silences the crowd. The crunching of leaves under hurried feet, rustling through the trees, "Cole! I'm here! I'm here!"

"See?" Cole says to Hattie with the brightest smile. "I told you, I told you! Matthew!" he waves.

And out of the trees comes what you can only describe as a colorful slenderman. He's tall and dressed in a sage suit, in accordance with the dress code. He nearly trips coming down the steps but he catches himself, just in time, stumbling over on the tip of his toes. The center of attention, pulling all eyes towards his entrance, which you think would annoy the bride and groom. But no, you look at them and they're just delighted. Grinning ear to ear, Cole's arms outstretched to catch Matthew in a great, big hug.

"Oh, man!" Matthew huffs. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. My flight got delayed and then I couldn't get a rental and then I got lost, I'm so sorry!" he instantly releases Cole to give Hattie a kiss on the cheek and a hug, "I'm so sorry, please don't kick me out of your wedding."

Hattie cackles, “Oh, we could never!”

You watch as his expression transfers from guilt to a sweet smile. You watch him rub your best friend's back and give her one final squeeze before his eyes cut up and accidentally meet your gaze. He couldn't help but wonder where the pretty sandals and pretty dress would lead, but once he sees your face, he can't look away. He stands up tall and takes a small step around Hattie just to get to you. "Hi," he holds out his hand.

"Hi," you smile and your hand fits in his like a glove. You only take a second to memorize the features of his face, the tip of his nose, the stubble on his chin, the light in his eyes. But it feels like an eternity.

Behind him, Hattie and Cole watch the spark catch flame. She nudges his arm and they look at each other with knowing smiles. Cole nods, "Uh, Matthew, this is Hattie's best friend and maid of honor, [y/n]. [y/n], this is my best friend and best man, Matthew."

"ly/n]." Matthew says breathlessly. "Hi."

"Matthew. Hello, nice to meet you."

"Now," he slyly puts his hand over yours to keep it in place. "That is maid of honor, right? Not matron?"

You giggle, "Yes. I'm completely and totally unwed."

"Good, good. Excellent. Love to hear it."

You giggle, again, and it's the most ridiculous sound. Cole and Hattie could not enjoy the show any more. "You two will actually be walking down the aisle together," Hattie says.

"Oh, wow," Matthew exclaims. "Had I known that, I would've been here way sooner."

"So not funny, dude," Cole shakes his head but you think it's hilarious.

"You're laughing?" Opal's voice cuts the laughter short. "The sun is setting, the food is getting cold and you're laughing?"

"Sorry, Opal," Cole frowns. "This is Matthew, the-"

"Matthew, [y/n], I need you two right here," she interrupts and with a hand on Matthew's shoulder, she gently pushes him to the side. She pushes him directly into you and it's almost instinct for his hands to take hold of your waist. Just as much so for your palms to fall on his chest.

"Oh no," he whispers. "This is... terrible."

You laugh and take a step back but he holds onto to your wrist, places your hand around his bicep as he faces forward.

"You feel at home being directed all over the place?" you ask, anxiously straightening out your dress.

"Um, actually I prefer to do the directing."

"Oh, have you considered wedding planning?"

"I offered to plan for these guys but they turned me down. I mean, what the fuck?"

"Well, I think that would've required you to be on time. Early even."

"Oh, then I'm out."

You cackle, a lot louder than you mean to, and once again here's Opal. "You two need to switch sides."

"Hm?"

"Switch."

"Oh."

You feel Matthew's hand linger on your back as you step around him, your hand instantly latching onto his opposite arm.

"We're so good at this," you shrug.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, right? Right? You'd think she'd cut us some slack."

Despite all the fuss leading up to it, the ceremony rehearsal itself is only 10 minutes at most. You and Matthew are the last to make your entrance and it is an odd feeling to separate. He stands on the opposite side of the arbor and as the flower girl practices her walk, he catches your eyes and mouths: miss you.

"Wonderful!" Opal cheers. It's the first time you've seen her smile all night. Once Cole and Hattie have finally taken their places right in the center. "Absolutely wonderful. Now, if everyone will head over to the reception hall for dinner. There is a lukewarm meal awaiting you all," and she cuts her eyes at Matthew.

"Again, Opal, so sorry about that," he shakes his head. You seem to be the only one who finds it funny.

Hattie gives Cole one big kiss and turns to you, "How weird was that? Me walking down the aisle? Did I look stupid?"

You take her hands in yours, shaking your head, "You looked beautiful. It's gonna be beautiful."

She shrieks, a long "eeeek!" of excitement that ripples amongst you and your friends. The group steps down from the platform, followed closely by the groom and his party. Matthew takes the opportunity to grab Cole's arm and whisper, "How long have you known [y/n]?”

"Uh, pretty much as long as I've known my fiancée." he laughs.

"And you were... what? Just hiding her from me? Not cool."

"You were hardly in the proper condition for someone like [y/n]. She's, uh, how do I say? Very grown up. Very focused, like her best friend.”

"And now? What condition am I in now?"

"The kind of condition where...I literally had no choice but to let you meet her?"

"Fuck off," Matthew shoves him and Cole stumbles with a cocky laugh.

"Sooooo," Hattie says as she interlocks your arms. She notices you looking back and she knows exactly who you're looking for. "Little lady?"

"Yes, little miss?"

"What do you think of Matthew?"

Your stomach flips at the sound of his name. "What do you mean?"

"Don't do that."

"What? What are you talking about?"

“This was you the whole rehearsal.." she sticks her finger between her teeth and mocks your giggle, "Tee-hee. Oh, tee-hee-hee-hee.”

"I was not!"

"Oh, but you were. You're quite smitten."

"I am not!"

"He's smitten with you, too."

"Whatever," you roll your eyes. But after a brief pause, you ask, "You think so?"

Clink-clink-clink.

You watch as Hattie rises from her seat, her doting fiancé standing beside her, to give a toast. You look up at her and it's not until this moment that you realize she's getting married. Not when she tried on her dress, not when she did a practice run down the aisle. Here. Now. With Cole's arm around her waist.

"Thank you all so much for being here. We're so grateful to have all our closest friends and family by our sides through this crazy weekend. I know some of you traveled very far and some of you are probably wondering when this whole thing will just be over but," she laughs along with the crowd. "Soon. Very soon. Thank you all for being readers in our little fairytale. Particularly these people sitting up here beside us, I know my friends have gotten an earful about Cole over the years."

"What did she say?" Cole interrupts, jokingly cutting his head towards all of you which earns him a burst of laughter.

"Seriously. Thank you all. Tomorrow wouldn't be possible without you and we can't imagine any other way. So…" she raises her glass glass and, because she's the bride and everyone must obey, everyone raises theirs as well. She looks Cole right in the eye and gives him that same lovesick smile she gave them the day they met. You glance away for only a moment and Matthew is looking at you the same way.

You tilt your head at him, furrow your eyebrows.

"To you," Hattie says. "To me. To us. Cheers."

"Cheers!" you toast, looking directly at Matthew who raises his glass to you, you alone, before taking a sip.

At the end of the night, the bride and groom are meant to retire to their respective areas. Cole and his groomsmen have a cabin on the other side of the property. Hattie and the girls have reign of the barn and an array of tents just in case they're feeling particularly outdoorsy. Yet, when the time comes, you and your friends sit on the barn's porch and watch Hattie and Cole embrace each other for a long time.

"I change my mind," she tells him. "We should just spend the night together. Let's go to our tree house."

He giggles and gives her a gentle kiss, "Ah, you just wanna get in my pants."

"So?"

A cackle now, "Goodnight, future wife. I love you."

"Noooo!"

"I love you!"

"I love you!"

Hattie waits until he's out of sight, and even then, she stands there and wishes for him to come back.

"H! Come on, honey," your friend calls to her. "It's late. Big day tomorrow!"

So she reluctantly walks up the stairs and begins the process of unwinding. It's not easy. Every second something pops into her mind and she hops up, ready to spring into action. It's a group effort to reel her in. Eventually, it's just you and her, lying in a cozy bed and she can barely keep her eyes open. She's trying though.

"Okay," you sigh. "I should probably get going. You gonna be alright?"

She nods, "I'm getting married..."

You grin, "Yes, ma'am. You are. So you need to get some rest," you kiss her forehead and rise out of bed, groaning as you straighten yourself up. "You need anything?”

"Mm-mm," she shakes her head. "I'm okay. See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

You're one of the few who chose to rough it in a tent for the night. There's a small heater and a platform bed. It's not a whole lot but the bedding is comfortable. You snuggle in and despite all your exhaustion, you spend the next chunk of time scrolling on your phone. When you hear a faint knock on the scaffolding of your tent, you’re suddenly hyperaware of the fact that you're in the middle of the woods. Alone. Quite a distance between you and the next tent. You sit up slowly, unsure if your mind is playing tricks on you. You take timid steps towards the opening and flinch as a shadow passes by.

You hesitantly pull down the zipper and when you see Matthew wondering around, you breathe a sigh of relief. “Fuck, dude. You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm so sorry," he instantly returns and lowers himself down to your level. "I didn't mean to."

"Um..you do know this is the bridal side of the property, right?"

"Mhm. I was looking for you."

"Me?"

"Mhm. Wanna go for a walk?"

"A walk?"

"Yeah, with me?"

"With you?"

"Okay, just assume I mean everything I say from now on."

You giggle, "I just met you a few hours ago...you want me to walk some random trail with you in the middle of the night?"

"All true, yes."

You tilt your head at him, "Fine. Okay."

"Don't sound too excited."

You turn around briefly to grab a hoodie. You throw it on and step out of the opening, taking Matthew's hand as you step off the platform. He takes your hand and he doesn't let go. He'd hate to lose you in the dark.

“So,” he says as you start down the trail. Your face is gently illuminated by the lights along the pathway and he can’t stop staring. “How do you know Hattie?”

“Technically high school, but I think we were separated at birth.”

He chuckles, “Best friends, huh?”

“Oh, best friends. Went to college together, too. Lived together for a while, didn’t kill each other.”

“That’s rare.”

“I know. I don’t see her nearly as often as I’d like but that’s my girl. How do you know Cole?”

“Drama camp.”

You stop in your tracks, stop both of you in your tracks. Still, Matthew doesn’t let go of your hand. “Drama camp?”

“Yes? You didn’t know Cole was a theater kid?”

You continue walking but your face is absolutely flabbergasted. “Cole? Finance bro Cole? A theatre kid? You’re fucking with me.”

“Oh, I am not. He was quite good actually,” he laughs. “He could’ve been a star.”

“Wow…” you shake your head. “Wow. You think you know someone.”

“And then you find out he was in a summer production of Fiddler on the Roof.”

You stop again. You feel like you could fall to your knees. “Matthew. Please. Please tell me there are pictures.”

“My mom recorded the whole thing, there’s a cassette tape somewhere.”

“Oh my god!” you cackle. “You’ll have to show me.”

“Fly out to Vegas with me at the end of the weekend. I’ll show you all the good stuff.”

“Oh. You’re planning on taking me to your hometown already? To meet your mom and everything?”

“You can meet my mom, you can meet my dad, you can meet my stepparents, you can meet my sister, my brother, her husband, his wife, my nephews.”

“Woah!”

“Oh, they’d love you.”

“I just wanna see Fiddler on the Roof!”

You’re not sure how long you stay out with him. The trail lights make it seem like no time has passed at all. You fill the air with so much chatter that it’s a shock when you loop around to the barn. As you near your tent, Matthew’s steps grow smaller. Slower, following close behind you with your hand still tight in his.

“Well,” he sighs. “Thank you for accompanying me. I was scared to walk alone.”

“Oh, is that why you invited me?”

“I just thought I’d get lost by myself. Needed backup.”

“Mhm,” you nod. “You do seem quite helpless.”

“You have no idea.”

You giggle and as you step up to your tent, you’re not ready to go inside just yet. So you turn to him and he is dangerously close to you. You can feel the heat radiating from his chest.

“Well, I had a nice time,” you smile. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

It’s going to happen. You raise yourself on your toes. He takes a firm hold of your forearms. His nose touches yours. Then you hear the sharp sound of a zipper slashing open. You both flinch and look over to see your friend, poking her head of wild hair out the opening of her tent.

You bashfully step away from Matthew, crossing your arms. “Hi, Gina.”

Gina squints, yawning, “[y/n]?” She rubs her tired eyes and looks at you. Then at Matthew. Then you. Then Matthew. “Uh…what the hell are you two doing?” she smirks.

“Nothing,” you tell her. “Go back to sleep.”

She looks at you. Then Matthew. Then you. You. And she ducks her head back in.

You chuckle shyly and shake your head. Moment’s gone but he still looks pretty under the moonlight.

“It’s late,” you whisper. “I need my beauty sleep.”

He scoffs, “To get even more beautiful?” he shakes his head jokingly as he backs away. “[y/n], that’s just greedy.”

You laugh, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes. You will,” he waves as he walks away. Blowing you a kiss, “Goodnight, [y/n].”

You wait until he's out of sight, and even then, you stand there and wish for him to come back.

“Ahhhh!” Hattie screams once you rise in the morning. You step into the barn, groggy and sluggish, but when you see her rushing towards you, you can’t help but smile. “Hi! Good morning!”

“Good morning, beautiful bride!” you give her a tight hug.

“We’re having a little breakfast. Here’s your mimosa.”

You glance down at the glass, taking it from her hesitantly, “It’s eight in the morning?”

“Hey, everyone has to do what I say today!”

“Okay, okay,” you take a quick sip and she beams, sitting down beside you at the table.

You fill your plate with food and seamlessly fall in conversation. None of it about the wedding, ironically. You have the rest of the day for that. Right now, in this moment, it’s gossip. It’s silly. It’s so relaxing that you don’t even realized you’ve finished your mimosa.

“I thought it was pretty cozy,” Gina shrugs. “Not sure what [y/n] thinks but then again she was out with Matthew all night.”

There is an immediate halt. Forks hitting the plate, a stunned silence falling over the room and all eyes on you.

“You were?” Hattie gasps.

You stutter, “It…wasn’t…all night. We-we just went for a walk.”

“Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?” a friend chimes in.

“We went for an actual walk!” you exclaim. “It was nothing.”

“Ohhhh, yeah,” Gina laughs. “It sure looked like nothing when I caught you two making out.”

Instant gasps.

“We did not make out!” you insist. “We didn’t even kiss!”

“H, how do u feel about making this wedding a joint thing?”

You look down, picking at your food as your face burns red and Hattie is just grinning at you.

Across the way, Cole receives a text from his bride, saying: Ask your friend wtf he was doing last night

Cole raises his eyebrows and spots Matthew shaving in the bathroom mirror. He slyly walks in and crosses his arms. He tries his best to be nonchalant, leaning back against the wall, eyeing Matthew in the mirror, “So. You have a good night?”

Matthew furrows his brows at him, “Yeah? Bed was comfortable.”

“Mhm. And…you didn’t…didn’t sneak off anywhere?”

Matthew completely turns his body around, “You and the wife talking about me?”

“My wife and her wife are talking about you, I think.”

He can’t help but smile to himself, “Well…cool…”

Cole laughs, “What’s the plan here, dude?”

“The plan is…to see [y/n] again as soon as humanly possible.”

Cole shakes his head, breaking a smile, “You do know that this is my wedding, right?”

Matthew laughs as he pats his face clean, “Yeah but…I don’t know, I was kinda thinking we could make it a joint thing?”

Once everyone’s hair and makeup is done, it’s silly to you that you have to pretend to do it all for photos. The makeup artist holds her brush to your full glam face just so the photographer can take a shot and it takes everything in you not to laugh. But it’s what the bride wants. You and the girls get into your dresses. You twirl and giggle like a game of dress up. Until Opal announces Hattie’s entrance. Then suddenly it’s very real.

Hattie walks downstairs in her gown, a ballgown specifically. Poofy, but not too big, a corset holding up her breasts, a diamond necklace on her chest to match her earrings. Her hair is put up and curled. Her makeup is done to perfection.

Oh. She is just perfect.

It moves everyone to a fit of squeals but you clasp your hands over your mouth and just stare at her. You go to wipe the tears from your eyes but remember your makeup so you fan your face. She laughs as she walks directly to you and takes you a tight hug. The photographer captures your sobbing face in all it’s glory. Hattie will frame that one for sure.

When Hattie’s dad comes around to escort her to the ceremony site, you take her hands in yours.

“It’s not too late,” you tell her. “We can still run.”

She laughs. “You know…I thought I might for a second there but…nah, I don’t wanna. I wanna marry him.”

You have to shake your head to keep from crying, “Okay. Okay, then let’s get you fucking hitched.”

Guest have arrived. Each chair is full and the forest around them is positively buzzing with excitement. The florals accentuate the atmosphere beautifully and now all that’s missing is the blushing bride.

You walk down the pathway with your friends, each of you holding up your dresses to protect them from the dirt. Your dress is by far the shiniest. Though all of yours are a variation of green patterns, yours is solid and laced with golden glitter tulle. The maid of honor must stand out. Matthew catches sight of you immediately but not just because you’re the maid of honor, not just because you’re shiny. But because it’s you.

And you look amazing.

It’s like everyone and everything around you fades away. Like he’s watching you walk towards him in slow motion. Your hair flowing in the wind, your lips stretching out into a smile just for him. When you step up to him, he has to take a moment because you just smell so good.

“Wowww,” he breathes out. “Look at you.”

You blush, “Look at me? Look at you!” you don’t even think about it, you just touch his clean shaven face. Run your knuckles over the smooth skin and he revels in it, closing his eyes for just a second. “You clean up nice.”

“Thank you. I only do it when absolutely necessary.”

You laugh and lean into him a bit, totally fixated until you notice the other bridesmaids watching you both from the sidelines. You cut your eyes at them and take a step back. You’re grateful when Opal comes in with her iron fist, arranging you all in order and demanding you stay there.

The music starts, you take a deep breath. You gave Matthew’s arm a squeeze, “You remember anything from rehearsal?”

“Nope, not at all. Just winging it.”

There is not much to say about the ceremony itself except that everyone - everyone - is in tears by the end. It is only thirty minutes but after it all, Cole and Hattie are married and nothing has ever felt so right.

Matthew links your arms as you make your exit behind the newlyweds and you can help but laugh at the tears staining his cheeks. You grin as you wipe them away with your thumb.

Pictures.

So many fucking pictures. So many poses. So many arrangements. So many beautiful backdrops to stand in front of and smile and live in awe of the bride and groom. Eventually, Cole and Hattie go off to take their own portraits and unsurprisingly, you wind up eating a plate of hors d'oeuvres with Matthew.

“You know her?” he asks you, nodding his head towards a guest who stays seated, fanning herself with her wedding program.

“Yeah, that’s Mia. We went to college with her.”

“It’s, like, not that hot out here, right? Am I crazy?”

“Asshole,” you swat his arm. “She’s pregnant.”

“Oh…oh. Oh, she is?”

“Yes!” you giggle. “You just can’t tell because she chose the poofiest dress to wear today.”

“Oopsie,” he cringes. “Hey, is that something you might consider?”

“Hm?”

“Getting pregnant?”

You nearly choke on your bite of food but promptly clear your throat, “What the fuck? Is that a threat?”

“No. No, it’s an offer,” he grins.

You shake your head at him, ducking your hesd down so he can’t see your heated face. Your smile. “You have your speech prepared?" you ask him.

"Speech?"

"Uh, yeah. Your best man speech?"

"I was supposed to write a speech?" he exclaims.

Your jaw drops in shock and horror and you're dangerously close to scolding him until you see a smirk form on his face.

'That's not funny!"

"Of course I have a speech. You think I'm nuts?"

"Yes!"

"I have a speech prepared that is going to bring absolutely everyone in attendance to tears. They might as well go ahead and pass out the tissues now."

"Oh, real confident there, huh?"

"My speech is gonna kick your speech's ass."

You cackle, "It's not a contest, you freak. We're declaring our love for our best friends and their new spouse!"

"Sounds like you're nervous. Sounds like you can't take the heat."

"What heat? You know what? I'm not doing this with you. I'm gonna deliver my speech and as long as Hattie loves it, I'm content."

He nods, “…bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk."

"Stop it!"

"[y/n]!” you hear from behind you and you whip your head around. Hattie is running up to you, dress lifted, feet fast. "[y/n]!"

You run right to her, catching her in your arms as you collide, "What? What is it? What's wrong? What are you doing? You're supposed to be getting ready for your grand entrance!"

She huffs, catching her breath, "I know. I will. I am, whew..." she catches her breath. "I just had to tell you," she pants. "I just got fucked in my wedding dress!"

"Oh!" you cover your mouth to conceal your burst of laughter. "Oh my god! I thought this was a classy party!"

"Well, we wrote it into the schedule. We even finished with three minutes to spare. Both of us!"

"Oh my god!" you repeat, hunching over in laughter as she runs off.

You and Matthew hadn’t prepared anything especially elaborate for your reception entrance. But the DJ makes the best man and maid of honor sound like such a big deal that you have to do something. Anything. And utimately, he just ends up twirling you around in front of him. Your dress flows through the air, this wide smile on your face and he so casually wraps his arms around you to prevent you from tripping in your heels.

Seriously. Could you two make it any more obvious?

Cole and Hattie are greeted with an uproar of applause and cheers, the photographer right in their faces, an outpour of love coming from all around them. You clap your hands incessantly and right in your ear is Matthew cheering, his hands on your waist, your back against his chest like it’s no big deal.

You sit down to eat with your friends and it’s one big round table of alcohol, gushing, yelling and laughter. Matthew’s called up to give his speech and he makes sure to walk by you on his way up. “Watch and learn,” he whispers.

You shake your head, roll your eyes, but you’re watching him. You’re watching the way he instantly takes control of the room and radiates this light under the night sky. You’ve got to give it to him. It’s a good speech. From beginning to end, it’s captivating. The emotional cadence in his voice ripples across the room and there is actually, literally a box of tissues being passed around.

He’s applauded by every guest and he immediately runs up to Cole and Hattie to give them a tight hug. He walks over to you and holds the microphone out for you, “Beat that.”

You eye him as he walks off and the giddy smile on your face quickly disappears when you make eye contact with Gina. She pinches her fingers and knocks her hands together, puckering her lips and making kissing sounds.

“Stop it,” you whisper.

You’re not as used to the spotlight as Matthew so when you stand up in front of everyone, you freeze for a moment. You struggle to get the words out. It’s not a contest, but you’re already losing. So you look at Hattie, the one person you are doing all of this for. It makes it a lot easier to just, speak your truth, “Hi. I’m [y/n] and Hattie is my very best friend.”

Hattie’s a mess instantly.

That’s the fun part about being the bride’s best friend. You know all the best parts of her relationship. You also know all the worst parts but those don’t need to be spoken today. You know how it’s made her happier, stronger, glow in a way she never thought possible. You know better than anyone that this is where she’s meant to be and who she’s meant to be here with.

She can hardly wait one second after you finish to run up to you and give you a big hug. She squeezes you so tightly that you think she’ll never, ever let you go. You escort her back to the sweethearts table and throw a smug look towards Matthew’s way. He puts his hands up in surrender. You win.

After a while, when the grandparents and kids have left and the hour for the fun adults has arrived, you’re just buzzed enough to dance. And you do. You let Hattie shake her ass on you a bit and for a while, you’re just girls again. No one’s wife, no one’s employee. Just girls. It wears you. You take a seat just to down the rest of your wine and catch your breath.

“You all danced out?” Matthew asks as he approaches you. He holds out his hand, “Or you got one more left in you?”

You tilt your head, drunkenly smirking at him, “I think I can squeeze you in.”

“Yeah?” he pulls you to your feet and into his arms. “Squeeze me into where?”

You giggle. You shamelessly fall into his chest, “Take me to the dancefloor.”

He does, he lead you right to the center. He puts his hands on the small of your back and cradles your hand against his chest. He breathes in the scent of your hair and sighs.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do once I have to part from you tomorrow.”

“Just put me in your pocket,” you whisper. “Take me to the big city.”

He chuckles, pulls you closer, putting your bodies flush together. “I will, in a heartbeat. Just say the word.”

You grin. You stare into those beautiful eyes of his and inhale the center of his chest and exhale with a soft hum, “The word.”

He smiles. You smile. You take a look around and then you two make your exit.

Off to the side, the bride and groom are slow dancing. The rest of the world has faded away. Though their feet are a bit uncoordinated, everything feels properly in place.

“Sooo,” Hattie puts her nose to his. “You’re thinking the same thing I am, right?”

“Thaaaat we have three more minutes of fun time? You wanna go now?”

She cackles, “No! About Matthew and [y/n].”

“Ohhh, right. Them. You were right. I owe you five bucks.”

“Mhm. For the rest of your life.”

He smiles softly, rubbing her back. He looks around the area and furrows his eyebrows, “Where…are Matthew and [y/n]?”

Hattie giggles, singing, “I know where they are.”

“No…” Cole gasps. “No…you think?”

She shakes her head at him. Sweet, dumb Cole. “Oh you are just so cute!” she kisses his nose.

In the solitude of your tent, Matthew stands behind you and slowly unzips your dress. He plants soft kisses on each spot of your skin as it’s revealed and you hum under your breath at the gentle contact. His hands latch onto the thin straps and pull them over your shoulders. He kisses your neck and runs his hands over your chest as he pushes the dress down your body. All that’s left of you is a strapless bra and seamless panties that he sticks his hands in. You step out of them and turn to face him.

You touch his face and look at him with these hooded eyes, smiling softly as you push his jacket off of his shoulders. You undo the buttons on his shirt and touch all over his exposed chest. He nuzzles his nose into yours as you take off his pants and he falls back on the tiny bed, letting you pull them off his legs.

He stretches out his legs but his feet hang off the edge so he bends his knees, “I don’t think I fit,” he chuckles.

You grin as you casually straddle his lap, running your hands over his arms. “We’ll just have to make you fit,” you whisper.

He gives you the faintest little whimper, leaning in to you with his mouth open. And just like you had meant to last night, finally, you kiss him. You kiss him. You touch his tongue to yours and place your hand on his throat, engulfing his entire mouth in yours. Both of you release these deep, guttural moans and Matthew gasps as you roll your hips on him.

He grips onto your waist, readjusts to get the right angle and you can feel him getting hard between your legs. It's almost juvenile, the way you both get so hot from dry humping. The way your mouths are so hungry that there's no coordination.

There's moments where you go in for his lips and catch his cheek instead and he pushes his face into yours so quickly that he only catches your bottom lip. He goes to grab your hair to keep you in place but he doesn't want to mess it up so he holds the back of your neck. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, take a tight grip of his hair and lean your entire body on his. There, the friction is perfect and you moan directly into his mouth.

Matthew shifts his focus to your jaw, gently nibbling on the skin from your ear to your neck as he unhooks your bra. You whine quietly, rocking your hips against him and leaning your head back to expose your throat. He wants to fucking bite you. He has the quickest impulse to sink his teeth into you but he doesn’t want to leave a mark so his hands land harshly on your ass as he groans in your ear. You gasp, your back arching and you think: fuck this.

You put your hand on his chest and push him back on the bed. He lets you but he whimpers. He wants to be kissing you. Needs to be kissing you. He looks up at you with wide eyes, his jaw dropping when you free his cock from his briefs. He licks his lips, nodding, begging, “Mm…mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm.”

You giggle at him, but that giggle is cut quickly by the ease in which his cock slides into you. You both gasp and he catches you as you fall into his arms. You feel just as good as he thought you would. Better. Even better. You watch his eyes roll to the back of his head and you try to kiss but your mouth are wide open. It’s mainly just heaving breathing and teeth on teeth.

He takes full advantage of the angle in his knees, keeps his hands on your ass to spread you open and push all the way into you. He likes the sound you make so he does it again. Again. Pulling all the way, pushing all the way in. Again, a little deeper. Again, a little harder. Harder and harder until you’re squeaking against each other’s lips uncontrollably, the one thing that’s louder than the sound of his skin slapping into yours.

He looks into your hooded eyes and begs, “Kiss me.”

So you do. You kiss him with a sloppy mouth and once again, there’s no coordination. You’re rocking around the tiny bed so carelessly that it might break. But even then, you wouldn’t stop. It’s hard to breathe. It’s hard to think. You just push yourself back on his cock, meeting him at just the right time that you’re entire body twitches violently.

“N-not…fuck…” you stutter against his lips. “Not…gonna…last…long…like this…mm, fuck.”

And he grins, delighted at the thought of getting you off. So quickly, so easily. Still, he pleads, “Oh…” he bucks his hips up into you. “Can’t we just…m-make it last forever? P-please…please, please, please…”

You shut him up with another kiss. You grab onto his hair and grind on him eagerly, chasing your high for what feels exactly like forever. The way the tension builds first in your thighs and then your belly and radiates throughout your entire body, you can hardly comprehend it. You tighten your grip on his hair and breathe out, “Matthew.”

“[y/n],” he breathes out and it sounds so helpless that you can only reply with a whimper. You increase your speed, your rhythm becomes sloppy but Matthew is rock solid. He cups your face in his hands and repeats, “[y/n].”

“O-oh, fuck. Oh…god…” you latch onto his wrists. You can’t take it anymore, “Mm…” and you come on his cock with a loud and visceral moan straight from the back of your throat. The way your pussy tightens around him has him matching your volume and the kiss you give him is so dirty that he will taste it for weeks.

He doesn’t stop. He fucks you through it until your body is all but convulsing. He only stops to prevent himself from coming inside of you, instead raising your hips to shoot his load all over his stomach. His knees tense up and tighten against you as the weakest groans escape his lips. You hum softly to yourself and you lower yourself down the mattress, licking the mess off his stomach as you make your way back to his lips. He’s stunned but rewards you with a kiss. He wishes the kiss could last forever. He tries his best to make it so.

But you crash on his chest, panting loudly and allowing your body to finally relax. Your head rises and falls with every heavy breath he takes.

“Let’s get married,” he huffs and you laugh, sitting up to look at him. “No?”

“Mm-mm,” you shake your head.

“Ugh…worth a shot.”

It’s so peaceful. A calm after a storm - a hurricane. Until your phone illuminates the dark space and you reach over his body to check the text. It’s from Hattie -

As soon as youre both done, my husband and i would like to make our outro! :)

“Oh, shit!” you exclaim and that’s all Matthew needs to hear.

You both hop up at lightening speed. You somehow get dressed even quicker. You rush out of the tent, nearly tripping over your feet, hand in hand.

“Wait,” Matthew says and when you pause to look at him, he fixes the clip in your hair and then he gives you a kiss. You look back at him with a smile as you run back to the reception.

You catch Hattie and Cole just in time. They are already lined up and ready to go when you two reappear. Matthew grabs Cole’s shoulder and laments, “Sorry about that, dude. I-I got caught up. Sorry.”

“Oh yeah,” Cole smirks as he keeps walking. “I can tell. Your jacket’s on inside out.”

After Matthew remedies that, you two casually clap and cheer as the newlyweds walk through the crowd of excitement. They promptly load themselves up on a golf cart and you watch them disappear into the night.

Matthew sighs, turning to you, “So…I guess our jobs are done for the night.”

You sigh in return, shrugging, “I guess so.”

“You gonna be lonely in that tent tonight?”

“God...” you shake your head. “I hope not.”

And that night, you are far, far from lonely in that tent.

You wake up together. Matthew made himself fit in that bed once again. You get dressed together. You both clean up the tent and step out together. And once again, there’s Gina, catching you in the act. She doesn’t say anything. But when she walks past you two, the tiny smile on her face says it all.

Back at the reception site, Hattie and Cole serve a light breakfast and deliver a toast that is short and sweet. Blah blah blah, thank you all for coming. Blah blah blah, we love you so much. Blah blah blah, we have a plane to Cabo to catch. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!

They go around to say their goodbyes and while Cole is distracted, Hattie intentionally saves you for last. She gives you a long hug, “Missed you last night.”

“Yeah, uh…” you blush. “I am so sorry about that.”

“Oh no, don’t be,” she gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “It all went according to plan.”

“To-“ you stutter. “Hattie Jane Welsh…”

“Aht-aht!” she grins as she walks away from you to join her husband. She flashes her rings, “Hattie Jane Briggs. I already changed it on instagram and facebook!”

You jaw is dropped in absolute shock and you can’t pick it up. In fact, your mouth is still wide open when Matthew approaches you.

“So, pretty lady, what are you doing after this?” he asks.

“Got a train to catch back home.”

“Oh, a train? How far is the drive?”

“About an hour.”

“I have an hour…” he says. “And a rental car.”

A sweet smile spreads across your face. He mirrors it right back to you. You take hold of your suitcase, step over to him, stand straight up and wrap your hand around his bicep. You’ve had a lot of practice.

“Okay,” you nod. “Let’s go.”

[okchijt]

Just noticed you've updated your masterlist and I just knew I had to make this request

Can I please ask for some basic headcanons of Harvey Dent from Telltale Batman???

Author's Note: Thank you so much Anon for the request! I love this man, I love him so much in this game. If there was a Harvey route then you might as well say I went for it all the way lmao. I have such brainrot for this man so again, thank you so much for wanting me to write for him! Also, all of these HCs take place before Harvey gets drugged cause he didn't deserve to go through all of that and not get an antidote😔 And lastly, go ahead and check out my masterlist if you like what you just read and if you want to request anything yourself, thank you, and enjoy!🩷

Harvey Dent Romantic Headcanons

🪙 Harvey would be the type of boyfriend to worship the ground you walk on. Well, maybe not that extreme but it's close! If his ''relationship'' with Selina is anything to go by then you just know this man is devoted and head over heels in love with you! He's super soft and romantic with you, wanting nothing more than to make you the center of his universe. He's basically the dream boyfriend type of guy.

🪙 As much as Harvey adores the idea of Gotham City knowing you two are together, he'd begrudgingly make sure to not show you off in front of cameras, paparazzi, and reporters. It's all for the sake of your safety, with all the stuff that came out about the Wayne's he doesn't want the same thing to happen to the two of you if by any chance anything ever came out against him. He doesn't want you to be caught in the crossfire, no matter if you'd be involved or not in anything he does when it comes to making political choices. He just doesn't want you to go down with him because he loves you too much to allow yourself to get hurt like that by anyone, he won't allow it. Ever.

🪙 Because of how tall Harvey is in this adaptation compared to his other versions I just have to say he would totally use his height as an advantage in the relationship. He doesn't care how short you are or by any chance actually close to his height, Harvey will still view himself as the protector in the relationship because of his height. As cliche as it is he'll sometimes put things on higher shelves and wait till you call for him to get the said object because no matter how hard you try you can't reach it. Harvey knows he's above average height and will use that against anyone who tries to harm you or makes you uncomfortable. Usually, his height does the trick because despite being fit he won't punch for shit. So he relies on his height to scare someone off as he stands in between the person that upsets you and you and either gives them a silent glare to back off or tries to defuse the situation with his words. He loves it when you depend on him, or specifically his height, it makes him feel useful to you. Also, it's adorable to see you either pout at him for using his height against you or smile up at him gratefully for his help. It always makes him feel so smug and lightheaded afterward to see you like this.

🪙 Doens't matter if you're into politics or not Harvey will, from time to time ask for your opinion before he makes a decision. He never asks you anything complicated or talks about subjects that could put you in danger or you have no idea about. He'd only ever want to know your opinion about the good stuff, like: What should he name the new child hospital or how would you improve some of the run-down parks to make them better suited for the public again. It just makes him feel all warm inside knowing you've also helped to make Gotham better, no matter how small the contribution was, Harvey is immensely proud of you for your support and the care you put out when helping him no matter how big or important the issue is.

🪙 Ever since meeting you, Harvey's goals have changed somewhat. He still wants to fix Gotham's endless corruption and crime, but now that he has you, he wants to change Gotham for you. Obviously, his other motivations still stand, but you're the main one now. Someone as amazing as you deserve only the best, so Harvey will make sure to make the city fit those expectations. He'll change the city to fit the mold, that mold being you. He'll make the new and improved Gotham not only for the people but for you, it's the least he can do after you've stepped into his life and made it something he could only ever dream about. He can't wait to make Gotham a safe enough place to finally feel free to worship you openly for everyone to see.

🪙 Harvey's love language includes quality time and physical touch! Honestly, I see Harvey as having all of the love languages so it was hard to decide his main two, but looking back at the game I say these two fit him the most! There have been two instances in the game where Harvey wanted to spend some time with Selina because he wanted to, they didn't arrange any meet-ups together, it was all him so I say quality time fits him well. If Harvey could he would spend his whole day by your side, he wouldn't let you go out alone at night and would always insist on driving you home himself. He'd often visit you unannounced at random hours of the day just to spend time with you cause he missed you, offering to go out to lunch together or to stay in and cuddle and watch a movie. If there's no work to be done and there are even five minutes of free time he can have to himself, he will either use that time to quickly drive to your place for lunch together or just call you on the phone to hear your voice if he can't afford the time to be physical there with you.

🪙 I picture Harvey as being extremely touchy with the person he loves, and that person just so happens to be you! He just can't get enough of you! You drive him crazy! Of course, he needs to have you in his arms 24/7! Not so much in public though, as much as he would love to show you off to the world he knows the dangers that come with it and he'll never forgive himself if you got hurt. That's why as soon as you're out of sight and in private, personal space will be thrown out the window. The stress of his campaign can only ever go away once he gets to have you all to himself. He'd cuddle you during the night, never once letting you go till the morning finally sets in and it's time to get up, it'll take a lot of convincing and kisses for Harvey to let you go and get up himself so you two won't be late to your respective jobs. When you're in the kitchen, making dinner Harvey has his arms wrapped around your waist as he buries his face into your hair. Or on the rare chance that Harvey gets to work from home, he'll have you seated on his lap as he does paperwork, making the normally stressful and boring job of signing and reading papers all the more enjoyable because he has you. Sometimes he can't help but get distracted though when he has you like this because he'll stop working every few minutes just to shower you with praise and kisses.

🪙 PDA is out of the table. As much as it pains Harvey to not have his hands all over you when out in public, he just can't afford the media going after you. Running for office already brings him a lot of attention, if people saw him with the person of his dreams out and about holding hands and kissing, there's no way you wouldn't be getting harassed by the media for it. That's why it's rare for you two to hang out in public, the only exceptions are dates when Harvey makes sure there will be no paparazzi or reporters to disturb you during your time together. Outside of that you two are total strangers/acquaintances in the public eye if Harvey can help it, though he dreams of announcing to everyone who his beloved is one day as he proudly shows you off. But he knows that day will never come, so he sticks to showering you with his love in private to make up for his neglect in public.

🪙 Since your relationship is a secret, at least to the public, Harvey will grab any chance to kiss you if he knows no one is watching. He's not that stupid to act out on his desires in a place full of people, so he'd be sure to think of an excuse to get you two alone with no people or cameras around so he can show you just how much he yearns for you. Harvey's kisses are always desperate, sensual, and passionate, he wants you to feel all of his love for you with a single kiss that will leave you both satisfied till you have to depart again. Though in private expect a lot more heated and longer kisses because it's just you and him and no one else to catch you. Outside of your lips though, Harvey's other favorite place to kiss you is your forehead, mainly because there's less bending over involved to get to your lips so forehead kisses are just easier. But putting that aside he loves it because it's just so soft and innocent, his arms wrapped around your waist as he leans down and kisses your head before nuzzling into your hair as he whines about how much he has missed you is just the sweetest thing.

🪙 Cuddles with Harvey are a mandatory daily activity, you cannot escape once this man has his arms around you. I imagine Harvey being the big spoon that does not mind being a little spoon occasionally. And by that I mean that it's almost impossible for this man to be a little spoon, not because he doesn't want to, he does, it's just his height that's the problem. Harvey cannot imagine himself being cuddled by you without crushing you. So his version of the little spoon is just you clinging onto his arm or sides like a koala and hugging him as hard you can. The action never fails to make him smile, making all of his worries disappear instantly, replaced by his love for you. As a big spoon though, Harvey would either be lying at his side or on his back as he hugs you tightly against his chest, burying his face into your hair as he breaths in the scent of your shampoo as well as kiss the top of your head from time to time as he whispers his love for you. During those times Harvey truly feels safe. You're his rock, the only thing that can ease the stress of it all, it all just feels so nice he could fall asleep like this with you forever. Always cuddle with a blanket around if it's a colder season though, this man's body temperature is built for the summer not winter, so just keep that in mind before you cuddle. Summer is great though, you've basically got a cooler that won't let you go unless he absolutely has to! Now that's what I call heaven!

🪙 Harvey is a super clingy guy, so it's no surprise that he gets jealous or threatened from time to time when it comes to you, and can you blame him? Only your most trusted friends know that you're together so it's not like he can fault some rando's trying to get a chance with you, but it's not like he'll allow it either! Harvey is sensible enough to realize when a person is flirting with you though, so if it's just a friend or they're not pulling any moves on you, he doesn't mind. Heck, he would even join in on the conversation and gradually direct it toward his campaign to promote himself some more or he'll just watch you with a smile from afar as he lets you have your fun. All of that goes out the window once Harvey realizes that the person is actually flirting with you, he knows he has to be careful though with the way he handles the situation to keep your relationship a secret and not raise any suspicion. Harvey's mood gradually sours and his eye twitches with irritation as he surpasses the urge to glare at the person, knowing he can't just yell at them to back off. He'd try to come up with an excuse to get you away from them instead. He'd walk up to the two of you, mustering up his best smile as he says: "I'm so sorry for interrupting, but (Y/N) is needed in the meeting room right now, please excuse us''. To which he'd immediately gesture for you to follow him as he holds out his arm to you like a true gentleman before he escorts you to the said ''meeting''. As soon as you're inside the room, Harvey locks the door and is immediately all over you, arms wrapped around you as he kisses you all over, growling to himself how you're his and he won't anyone take you away from him. Either that or he'll wait till you two get home to do the exact same thing if he can't do it immediately because of the lack of privacy. The point is, that Harvey will make sure to remind both you and himself that he's the only man for you during those times. Feel free to interpret that however you want.

🪙 Harvey takes dates extremely seriously. He always puts his all into them, making sure they always feel special and different from the last one. The dates are always arranged in a way where you won't get caught because Bruce is such a good friend he'll rent out entire restaurants for the two of you to spend time together without a worry. Both Harvey and Bruce agree you only deserve the best so it's always the best restaurants the city has to offer where you'll be enjoying your dates. Either that or your favorite place to eat, no matter how fancy or non-fancy it is, as long as you're having fun Harvey has nothing to complain about. Though casual dates are also his favorite, whether it's just you two staying at home and having dinner as you watch a movie, or going to coffee shops together for breakfast or to relax from your jobs for a bit. Coffee shops only work because you can always excuse it as an out with a friend or it's work-related, it helps Harvey feel more relaxed because of the believable excuse.

🪙 You are the pinnacle of Harvey's happiness and existence. Your well-being and happiness are the most important things to him and he'll make sure you get the most love and devotion he can give you. Every day is just a new day of Harvey reminding you how much you mean to him, it makes him perfect for anyone who just wants to have a safe, secure, and loving relationship. He does get paranoid from time to time, but with you by his side, he knows he can accomplish anything. Whether that is changing Gotham or himself, he'll do it all just for you, his only reason and motivation to live.

[sakebytheriver]

Watching a review of the Wednesday show and the guy was like "this show is good because it was everything Chilling Adventures of Sabrina should have been" and I was just like, bro no

Like I said it from the get go that this show was literally going to be a Sabrina knockoff and he literally just confirmed all of my suspicions, but said it was a good thing the show went this route and I just. That's the ultimate problem with the show that it would rather take aesthetics from Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, shows with great visuals but shitty writing that get tons of clicks rather than risk making something that would be respectful to the source material but an original work of art in this age of cliche Netflix Riverdale aesthetic teen dramas, like the main issue is that they didn't make the Wednesday show like this because they thought it would serve the family and their narrative they made it like this because it would be profitable. In no world should you be comparing some Riverdale spinoff to an Addams Family property, there should not be a world where we make the Addams Family a Riverdale aesthetic murder mystery show (which btw that was Riverdale's season one, a murder mystery), that's not their core, that's not their aesthetic, I don't want to live in a world where The Addams Family are two steps away from crossing over with a Riverdale property, the dialogue he played to show how well written the show was, made me cringe so much, like it was basic and cliche and it didn't subvert anything the way the Addams Family is supposed to and it just feels like such a waste of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, because I do agree with him that she was insanely well cast and deserves to be Wednesday in a property that is actually good and is actually The Addams Family, they all do, this cast is like the only good thing this show adds to The Addams Family canon. He's not completely charitable to the show and he does point out the obvious flaws with the terrible love triangle, the cringey side characters, and the lackluster way they try to wrap up the big conspiracy at the end, but he admitted that he never liked the Addams Family or knows anything about the OG family and so taking his word on this show is something that needs to be taken with a massive grain of salt.

The issue at the core of this review is that he doesn't understand the source material and he doesn't understand that taking Wednesday away from her family and making her into a Chilling Adventures of Sabrina knockoff doesn't quite mesh with the source material's original intent and I don't think you always need to stick to the source material especially with something as lose as The Addams Family, but when the show is just ultimately Tim Burton trying to keep his career and his white goth aesthetic alive and using a property with characters already known by the public in order to ensure the most profit possible (remember Netflix telling Craig McCracken they didn'twant any new IPs only reboots and sequels) putting this family into a show that is antithesis to their core artistic directive and the way they just completely butchered every other character's personality in the Addams Family besides Wednesday is beyond disappointing. It's just so obvious after watching this review to me that the show only used The Addams Family for their aesthetic and that they (Tim Burton) wanted to use Wednesday Addams as a Winona Ryder goth manic pixie dream girl archetype rather than what her characterization and her family's characterization actually is

I think the biggest thing I took away from his review is that the Riverdale creator is a desparate Tim Burton wannabe who can't write a good script to save his life and so it makes sense to me that the new Tim Burton show was just a Riverdale looking teen drama with slightly better writing

[m1ckeyb3rry]

hii !!!

so i decided to reread pomegranate ink bc i just love it way too much, and I FORGOT HOW FUNNY TULLIA IS, i literally love her sm omg she’s definitely one of my fav characters that you’ve written (along with friedrich from SITH!)

i completely forgot how WHIPPED yuta is for the mc & im absolutely living for it omg. the way he was so protective over her during the goodwill event & literally went batshit crazy bc she got hurt had me wanting to scream /pos

i also love how supportive noritoshi is! instead of making him a toxic partner, you made him trusting and supportive and it’s so refreshing. other authors may have gone with the cliche & made him toxic, and i’m so glad you didn’t. how he acts so sweet to the mc and wants her to be happy despite their situation is so endearing to me. it shows that he cares sm abt her platonically & i adore their friendship <3

AND TOGE!!! i love how he’s been a shoulder to lean on since the beginning! he’s helped the mc out sm & he’s such a reliable friend to her. their friendship is also one i adore. & toge & tullia are so cute, i hope they get together soon!

i’m loving tanvi’s character so far!! you rlly have such a good way of incorporating ocs into the story where they’re not just randomly thrown in. and you always find a way to show their importance too! i can’t wait to see more of tanvi in the future! she seems so sweet & i feel like her & tullia would get along so well.

sorry for ranting sm!! i just love pomegranate ink with my whole heart. it’s definitely my second fav of your fics, right behind SITH!

i’m interested to hear what you would do in regards to when yuta comes back during shibuya. like, would the mc stay in tokyo & meet the first-years & participate in the goodwill event or would she go with yuta overseas? it’d be cool to see her interact with the first-years though!! especially nobara, i feel like those two would get along despite nobara’s headstrong personality! i also think her & yuji would be good friends! thinking abt how gojo wanted to set her up with megumi would be funny in regards to those two meeting for the first time LMFAO. i definitely think megumi would respect her like he does yuta & i feel like she’d be like a protective older sister figure to him or maybe she’d remind him of tsumiki in a way?? i just like theorizing! :D

i’ll stop rambling now haha, i hope you’re doing well & taking care of yourself! :))

— 🪐

HIII sorry for the late response I feel like I’ve been kinda MIA recently!!

I feel like it’s not Yuta if he’s not at least a little whipped I’m glad you liked how I wrote him :) halfway through that fic I gave up on trying to make everyone be in character and just decided to write based on vibes alone HAHAHHA I think the best way to describe it is JJK vol 0 on crack tbh

I considered going the typical route or having him be in love with her but it’s just sm better with them as friends. Noritoshi is so sweet and he deserves sm and I hate when authors make characters villains for no reason when canonically they probably wouldn’t behave that way

TOGE IS SO GOBLIN I LOVEEE HIM he feels like someone who will just always come through when you really need him and isn’t afraid to say things straight up 🫶🏼 the best friend we all need FR and you’re so right he and tullia should be together by now…maybe if I ever actually wrote they would be 💔💔💔

Aww thank you I love using OCs so I’m glad people like them!! Tanvi will be a love interest for an already-introduced character but I will leave it a mystery as to who 🤞🏼

DON’T APOLOGIZE I LOVEEE LONG ASKS I always get happy when I see them in my inbox hehehe they’re the best form of validation Fr

MC will stay in Tokyo when Yuta goes overseas!! She’ll probably have a more background role because otherwise some plot points simply wouldn’t happen (ex during the exchange event she would be left to fight Todo as they’re evenly matched and she’s beaten him before) but she will be present for most major things. I think nobara would definitely look up to her the way she does with maki, and I think the MC would probably love the fact that someone thinks she’s strong HAHAH. I do think she would like yuji a lot as well!! Honestly she’s a pretty friendly person I think she doesn’t really dislike anyone (except for naoya). I can see yuji and tullia getting along very well though! And as for megumi…I think gojo would constantly be third wheeling or indiscreetly spying on them anytime they try to talk so that might make it hard for them to be super close but who knows lol.

I’ve been doing pretty well recently, just been super busy which is why I haven’t written anything in so long. I watched the new AOT ep with my family today which will hopefully motivate me to update SOMETHING soon hahaha.

[mollyrolls]

HAPPY SELFSHIP THURSDAY 🏋️‍♀️fuck everyone who stole the selfship questions that i was gonna send youre all actual haters bro! im gonna ask my own questions because im different and better

describe ur ideal date night!! go into detail!! tell me the cute things that happen/things he does!!! compare date nights from the beginning of ur relationship to now!!!!!!

LOVE YOU MOLLSY HOPE LIFE HAS BEEN TREATING YOU WELL as soon as i have time im gonna feast on hey cupid like its my last meal you better brace yourself for the incoming spam.

you are different and better!! thats just a fact!! also i like these questions more anyways LMAO

so we have two kinds of date nights, and there is no grey area. either its a very casual thing that some people might not even consider a date, or its balls to the walls we are hitting the fucking TOWN!!! so ill talk abt the latter bc thats more exciting

this is a whole day affair. he likes to be all corny goofball on these dates, so he'll insist that i spend the night at my place and get ready by myself so he can pick me up, and he'll bring me a little something cute. i hate gifts so its normally flowers, but sometimes itll be a note or a drink, something small like that.

lots of exaggerated holding doors, cliche pickup lines, stuff like that. i hate it but it makes me laugh, so he loves doing it. we also have a running bit that im secretly a trad wife, so he leans fully into the trad husband, if that makes sense. are you getting the vibe?

ok now what are we actually doing: we love to see shows or concerts!! where i live there are a lot of orchestras that come through, so we get dressed up really fancy and go to the orchestra, or a play or a musical, smth like that. it gives me an excuse to wear nice dresses and do full glam, and i LOVEEEEEEEE to see him in a dress shirt i am actually frothing at the mouth god i need him so BAD. IF HES WEARING A JACKET? FUCKING FORGET ABT IT WE ARE NOT MAKING IT ON TIME.

at the end of the show, we'll walk around the scenic routes in the city, especially by the water and watch the ducks and shit. very cute very domestic.

the night ends with us going to a fast food place and feasting while in our really nice outfits. mcdonalds in a prom dress core!

ok little things we do: he will always give me his jacket to wear on the way home, even if its summer out and ill start sweating. he will bring one just so he can do it. also i tend to get cold in theaters so it is helpful, and when its his i can blame it not going with my outfit on that. he doesn't put his arm around me but as soon as we sit down he'll hold my hand and absentmindedly stroke my thumb while he listens to the music. AGHAHHHHHH cause he gets so into it and hes so cute when hes really enjoying it; we both really love jazz so if its a jazz concert he's just in his element, he'll hum the songs he really likes for the rest of the night and he'll put them in our shared playlists. i always save the program and if theres something to buy ill get it for him, like a cd or a recording or something. he keeps all the programs. also he respects the full glam so he only does top of the head kisses, except at the end of the night where i get a real goodbye kiss

OK AND START OF THE RELATIONSHIP TO NOW HMMM

they definitely got more comfortable, but the style has always been the same. the nice nights weren't always as goofy as they are now, but once we realized we can be both funny and romantic its wraps

[isca-rambles]

5x20 Oh my god this domestic moment is so fucking perfect. They are just drawn to each other, even after Tamara interrupts them. Tamara I love you but could you not have given us one moment between them?! Tim forgetting about Isabel because of the shower. God Lucy looks gorgeous in this outfit. I mean she looks gorgeous in every outfit. Lucy telling Tamara she's being so loud. The absolute mum and daughter conversation. Tim constantly making eye contact with Lucy. Keeping her involved in the conversation. I really liked how they handled Isabel coming back. Aside from the little laugh they have about meditation, right in front of Lucy, I do like they didn't go down a route of jealousy or bitterness or anything. And I don't think the meditation thing was meant to be mean or anything, it just felt a little high school. Tim literally does meditation without realising (back when they're telling Nolan how to lower his heartrate and keep calm, and Tim talks about doing something where you can turn your mind off. Much like therapy, Tim just doesn't realise how useful it'll be until he does it. Lucy knows all.

Nyla checking in on her girl. Tamara just has open access to the police station at this point, girl be coming and going like it's a library. She's basically just the station's adopted child and I love it. Oh fuck off really? We couldn't get a few more episodes without Monica? Uuuuuuugh. Don't try and get her into our good books by having her bounce off of Randy. Does the station not have lifts? Or ramps? Really? No accessibility? I think we've got a bigger issue here than not being pregnant lady friendly. God I'm just realising how close I am to being actually properly caught up with this show. And only two episodes from S6. That's going to be a tricky one to get through. This show has a lot of storylines or arcs that I don't agree with, but yeah, I am so glad they didn't go a stupid cliche route with Isabel coming back. Oh Tim, angel. His smile when they talk about Lucy. I really hope they deal with the UC elephant in the room in S7, and in a good way that is kind to and realistic for both Tim and Lucy.

Jesus Nyla that's cruel. I can't even say the alphabet forwards without singing the song. Also, Mekia has the best facial expressions.

Oh my god the shy little smile between Lucy and Tim at the car door. I honestly really love Lucy and Isabel here. They could make some really sweet friends. I mean it'd be to weird for a proper full on friendship, but they have a nice vibe. Lucy's uncertainty about UC showing a little, for me at least. I just don't see UC sitting with who Lucy is as a person. Not long term ops anyway. There's no reason she can't still do short term ops every now and then without commiting to longer ops. Those are the ones she always seems most miserable about. I'm worried that now she's lost her relationship with Tim, Tamara has moved out, and her friendships at the station aren't as strong as they used to be (which, honestly, I just blame on the strike and shorter season. I don't know if it was intentional, I feel like they dropped the ball and figured we wouldn't notice), they're going to push Lucy into going all in for a dangerous UC op to make her realise it's not for her. And, as angsty as that'd be for a fic, I don't want more trauma for Lucy in canon. She's been through enough. I just was nice things for her. Dara, you idiot. Lucy saving the day, my girl. I just love seeing her in action. Another reason I love her on patrol, honestly. Or co-ordinating with the FBI. Or doing anything. Okay I just love Lucy. Oh Lucy, honey. You're so insightful normally but that man will not be fine. They both know it and they're trying to avoid confronting it and this leads us to S6 aaaaagh. And Lucy thinks she'd be okay but we know from S6 that she's defelcting a lot of her uncertainty onto Tim. Using him as an excuse. Because she loves UC but now she has a lot of somethings to lose. Including herself. And she's scared of turning away from it after all she's put into that path. That little headshake and sigh he does before forcing a smile. But look how well they just mould into each other. Her hand on his chest, always. His cheek against her hair. Oh god I can't with these two please someone just wrap them in a blanket and put them somewhere safe.

[mouse-fantoms]

ME TOO OMG (is this like a canon event for every fantom 💀 like wake up is when you realize it’s not just gonna be a casual watch)

I think bc they open so strong with now or never and how good that one is, you watch it with the assumption “okay the songs in this show are going to be this quality of good with these characters at least”

And then they show you how Julie’s mom passed, she’s had a hard time with music ever since, ya know they give that lead in and you can tell how hard is it for Julie but also everyone around Julie too like you can just feel how this girl wants to do music (like how she had the courage to go the piano in class but just stopped herself moments before she had her fingers on the keys bc she felt like she couldn’t) but she is having a hard time.

But then when Wake Up happens, bc that is a very important moment for this character (bc of what they have set up), we just met and yet we have already become so attached to her, we see her have that courage to actually play music when she hasn’t been able to before this point.

I remember being nervous for Wake Up bc “omg Now or Never was so good I really hope this girl is just as good” and being so captivated and so moved by the performance like oh my god, like I watched Jatp for “background noise” and Wake Up made me put down my assignment I was working on bc I was so taken aback and was so invested at what else this show had in store.

I think another thing too that made me realize this show was going to be so much more to me is how many times it broke my expectations. Like just with how the cliches are in other media you just have these expectations going into it.

I remember seeing how there are three main guys and one main girl and thinking “A love triangle is going to be in here somewhere” bc when you see that set up bc of what other shows do it makes you think that and for Jatp to not have that at all in the slightest was so refreshing and so different.

I remember just assuming (bc I went into Jatp knowing Alex is gay) “They have a gay character and that’s going to be his only thing.” BUT NO once again that is not done at all in the slightest way which again was so nice and refreshing to see.

When I saw Carrie and her character I just automatically thought “oh mean girl is mean to main character bc she’s mean girl” BUT when Nick says “You two used to be friends” it adds so much, it adds an entire new layer to the characters, there is this history to them that we haven’t seen before bc that happened before we got introduced to them and their lives, that line just makes them feel like actual real people, like I believe I am watching these two high school girls who probably used to be such good friends have this interesting new dynamic now that they’re not bc of something that happened in their friendship in the past.

Seeing how Flynn is the best friend to Julie I automatically thought “Julie’s not gonna tell Flynn about the boys and this is going to drawn out through the whole show. 🙄” and for them to not do that is so different bc they could have easily have done that.

I thought too when Flynn is mentioning Julie’s crush on Luke I fully thought “this is gonna be drawn out to where Julie’s in denial about it and she tries so hard to not like him even though it’s very obvious to us that she does like him.” And I also thought when Nick asks out Julie, “oh no they’re gonna have her say yes and have this be drama here with the two guys she had a thing for” for them to again, not go that route was so sincere that it makes me believe that I am watching genuine realistic characters here. Just two girls talking about the other’s crush, just this guy trying to ask out this girl who he hopes he didn’t wait too long to ask her out

I hadn't listened to the jatp soundtrack in a long while so I decided to put it on shuffle while studying. The last song that came on was Wake Up which made me emotional because it really was the moment I realized that this show wasn't just going to be a casual watch for me - Like I remember watching the first episode for the first time, I was looking at something on my phone and Julie sat down to sing Wake Up and I had to put my phone down because I was kind of speechless? I knew she was going to have a good voice but I was still not expecting how good she was? It's been four years since then but oh my god I still so clearly remember that moment thinking, this show is gonna stay with me for a while

[space-blue]

An emotional first reaction to Arcane's finale

With an accent on Silco's arc...

*Wipes tears away*

Anyway. When was the last time you sat down to a tv show that punched this hard and respected its villain this deeply? Silco is by far the most interesting character, and he carries the show on his scrawny shoulders.

Compelling if mysterious backstory, overcomes his demons and his traitorous brother in one fell swoop as he gains power. Silco's a zealot who dreams big for everyone. And yet in the end he finally understands why Vander did what he did. Finally has an emotional tie on a personal level that means more to him than the Nation Of Zaun, that big all consuming project that's been driving him from the start.

And yet in a completely masterful twist, Vander chosing his daughters over Zaun means the Status Quo, while Silco choosing his daughter over Zaun means War.

He gets everything he ever wanted. He's a villain who uses all ends to reach his goals and actually gets there, and the creative minds behind Arcane had the guts to make it absolutely irrelevant to his death. That is so wild, honestly. His love is his personal downfall (or more likely, the lack of mental health care in the Lanes is his downfall...) but he's never more human and more like Vander than when he dies...

For the creators to chose to NEVER redeem him, and instead just... humanize him to the very end... To let him say his piece and clear out misunderstandings and also to go knowing all his *fucked up* efforts fucking paid off...

*Silco style slow clap*

Fucking bravo.

Turns out Silco wasn't lying, not anymore than any of us do from time to time, even to our loved ones. Turns out that he was really worrying, really caring, and that it was really "just the two of them".

There's plenty wrong with Jinx's arc as a villain in the becoming, the whole "hearing voices makes me unhinged and violent" really isn't palatable.. it's an easy cop-out that puts people with IRL mental illnesses in another toxic limelight.

But there's incredible beauty in her being truly embraced by the villain, for the most wholesome family to really be with him. To be fought for as hard by him, as much as Vander did. Vi doesn't want Jinx. She truly wants "Powder", and even if she probably loves her and probably needs the mental help Vi would desire for her "to change" and "become stable", Jinx's toxic, zealot, asshole second dad loves her exactly as she is. Why the fuck would you not chose that side, being in Jinx's boots?

*chokes up for a minute*

I can't clap my hands hard enough to applaud the team behind Arcane (so I'll use them to write fanfic instead)

How did they manage to break the curse of video game adaptation?

Well, I think it helps that the studio itself retained absolute creative control. For once it's not a film industry giant buying rights and trying to do it's usual "adaptation" cash grab wringer. It's a studio getting another studio to work their (insane) magic and produce the best 9 episodes cinematic we've ever seen.

The vision was theirs, the story was uncompromising and unflinching.

I am not surprised the writing punches this hard. Video game writers know what the fuck they're doing, because they create immersive worlds and storyline in which the players/viewer is directly active. I mean look at other hard gut punches out there like God of War, Wticher 3 or even Jackie's arc in Cyberpunk.

But for them to stick to their guns to the very end... To give us characters this compelling instead of following the cliche route... For them not to betray us, the way so many other storylines do by trying something bold for a hot minute before falling back on tried and true cliches like deflating souflés...

Guys, I'm sorry but even Disney doesn't clap this hard. Arcane came on to the scene and swatted everyone aside. The visuals, the animation style, the music, the cast of character all painted in deep shades of grey, the riveting plot with its series of mirrored pairs going through the same divisive process... Arcane is the show we've all been begging for, but we were asking for it to the wrong people.

Bravo team. None of y'all will ever see this post, but know you're appreciated. You made me scream and choke up and built a whole new condominium in my skull for Silco to live in rent free. Fuck you and bless you, I love you guys.

[anime-grimmy-art]

Told you guys I’d ramble in due time.

I absolutely adore Bravely Default 2. It came at a really bad time cos I can’t waste 70 hours on a jrpg, but well, it’s too late to be concerned about that now. And as is tradition with me obsessing over a new game / show / whatever, you’ll basically find a fullblown review disguised as ramblings right under the cut. Be aware that I’m gonna talk about EVERYTHING, so spoilers are a given. Some maybe even for the previous Bravely Default games.

Also, if you wanna talk about this game in any capacity, hit me up, I’m DESPERATE to talk more about it.

Just for reference on how long this is gonna be, I made a voice recording while driving to remember all the points I wanna make, and that recording is almost 2 hours long. I did cut it down but still, this is gonna be a lot.

I’ll start off with the things that actually bugged me about the game, since there are only 3 things that really bothered me. First of, I really don’t like that you can name Seth. He has too much personality to be a self insert and player integration is not that big of a part in the game that this decision can be justified. It wouldn’t bother me that much if it didn’t leave a bad mark on the ending. First of all, we were robbed of Gloria desperately shouting for Seth, which makes the impact work less, and it’s just so prevalent that the name can’t be said because you have all the normal sound design going. If they’d just let the credits still play I wouldn’t have batted an eye, but because every other sound comes in it’s so obvious they’re just silently shouting in this scene, which makes it look silly. Like I said, this decision is more a detriment than an addition, and it’s a shame it casts a shadow on an otherwise heartfelt ending.

Speaking about lost potential, the other thing that really bothers me is the lost potential in certain plot points and character conclusions. I mainly mean Adam and Edna here. Both of them have been built up to be these formidable foes but they just, die. If it was just Adam I’d be fine with it, since you expect Edna to backstab him and be the actual big bad of the story, but I cannot fathom why they dropped Edna this HARD. If not Edna herself, I don’t understand why we don’t get more of a reaction from the Fairies and especially Adelle. I mean, Edna was her sole reason she left for her journey in the first place, then Edna dies and that’s it? No part where she grieves for a second? No concern from the others about Adelle? Mind you, I haven’t finished all the Sidequests, so maybe there actually is one in which this is addressed, but I think even just a Party Chat after Bad End 1 would have been sufficient to show how Adelle suddenly feels about the loss of Edna. It would have made Bad End 2 / The Secret Ending even more impactful, because, yeah, of course, you kinda know Adelle isn’t going to turn her back on fairy kind, but one of the reasons she doesn’t leave is because if Enda didn’t get a happy ending, then she shouldn’t either. It would have been amazing foreshadowing if she showed this sentiment before this scene happened. Other than that, it’s a shame that we know so little about Edna, or rather, how she became “bad”. I get she’s supposed to be corrupted by the Night’s Nexus, but how did it even come to this? It can’t have been a gradual thing, after all, Adelle says Edna was always good natured and then just disappeared one day. Really would have loved seeing more of that plot point.

Ok, last gripe I have, some choices in the soundtrack and sound design. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the OST, and I will get to that, but damn, whatever Revo used for the lead instrument in Wiswald hurts my ears. It’s a really good track, but I always have to turn down my volume because these high pitched sounds physically hurt. And for sound design. Dude, the Night’s Nexus is the least threatening, nightmare fueled abomination that ever existed. I get that its growl is kinda supposed to be layered with Edna’s or sth, but it, it just sounds silly. If they went the route of just swinging between different voices or began distorting it from phase to phase, it would have been fine. But the choice they made really made an otherwise creepy design just absolutely silly.

Ok, enough jammering, on to the good stuff. Like I said, there’s going to be a lot, so I’ll try to be brief in each aspect.

Gameplay

I honestly like the new battle mechanics more than the old ones. This individual, turn based system feels way more dynamic and it’s easier to strategies in battles. Because nothing made me more angry than setting up for a heal and the enemy suddenly being faster than me and killing my healer. Now it’s easier to plan ahead a bit.

I also found myself experimenting more with the jobs. Not sure what it really is, but none of the party members leaning more towards certain types of jobs and the job leveling being way faster probably helped.

And I know some people get up in arms because the boss sometimes can be a real pain in the ass (looking at you pope dude), I still found it very interesting getting around counters or even using these counters as a benefit. As an example, I made Adelle my main physical fighter and gave her lots of counter abilities to help her profit from being countered by enemies themselves. Now, she can attack enemies, get countered, automatically evade that counter and earn a BP at the same time. Made a lot of boss fights way easier and fun to exploit.

Music

Ok, I will try my best to be really, really brief, because in my recording this part takes up almost 40 minutes. Anyways, Revo might have just become one of my absolute favorite composers ever. I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but I initially wasn’t that impressed with the OST, but every time I listened to it, I just fell in love harder and harder. Before getting into specifics, I wanna highlight the two things that made me love this OST overall. First of all, this soundtrack almost seems like a refinement of BD’s. While losing some of that fairytale vibe, it sounds even more fantasy now. And in contrast to the original, this almost sounds more balanced? Like, BD’s OST felt high energy throughout, BD2’s on the other hand manages to find a good balance between high and low energy pieces. Like, the character themes or battle themes are absolute hype, but the overworld themes are a lot calmer and easier to listen to while exploring. Second big point that makes this soundtrack amazing is that Revo is an absolute god at using emotional progression/storytelling and leitmotifs in his songs. And heck, do I love myself my leitmotifs. You’ve got some obvious ones, like the final battle theme in which all the character themes and other leitmotifs are integrated. Then you got some maybe more subtle once, just like how the overworld themes are just the main theme, just a lot calmer and using the lead instruments of the towns of the areas.

But my absolute favourites gotta be the character themes and the main theme. I love how fitting the themes for the characters are and in general, each of them is such a bop. At first I prefered Elvis’, because I sure am a sucker for jazzy vibes, but over time Adelle’s became my fav. It’s just something about the trumpets, and how the theme almost sounds a bit melancholic and bittersweet, that drew me in. And considering her story, mostly her bad end, that the bittersweet tone really fits.

Then there’s the main theme. Just like BD’s it shouts “triumphant anthem” and it definitely gives you a very familiar vibe, but I’d argue it has even better emotional progression. Heck, the first time I heard the music start up in the reveal trailer, I didn’t have to look at the screen to know this is gonna be a BD game. Also, the credit song version had me weeping at the true end. I’m someone who’s very easily affected by music (if me shouting about soundtracks on this blog wasn’t proof enough) and just hearing that ending song, getting the after credits scene, just for the second credits to start as a freaking duet. Dude, at that point I just started sobbing, I’m not gonna lie. Just this little part showed how much Revo knows how to put emotion in a song and also write it in such a way that he can elicit strong, emotional reactions from you too. 

Story

People have been complaining how the story is too boring and kinda disappointing in comparison to the last one, but I just think the games tried to accomplish different things here. Since the BD series is a celebration of old, classic jrpgs, “cliche” storytelling is a given. Though, BD did throw a lot of meta stuff in there too. BD2 in contrast just feels like a direct execution of that initial idea. It feels familiar, it feels comfy and it feels safe. Except for the little things with the endings and then overwriting the Nexus’ “save file”, BD2 doesn’t really get that meta, which is totally fine. It doesn’t try to reinvent or innovate anything, it just wants to be a fantasy story, that might be cliche, but still fun and enjoyable in its own right.

I’d also argue that the pacing is a lot better than the old game, because with BD I sometimes found myself skipping through scenes to get on with the story. Not that this game didn’t have me rushing through stuff as well, but I found it kept my intrigue way better than the original.

Characters

Next to the music, this is the part that I absolutely love the most. While, yes, they did lose a lot of potential with some characters, mostly with the villains, the main cast is just so much fun. I love these 4 dorks so, so much.

I honestly can’t stand how much people compare them to the original cast. Yes, ofc, I’ve been doing my fair share of comparisons too, but calling these four a more boring version of BD’s party physically hurts me. Because except for some initial impressions, the Heroes of Light are completely different from our beloved Warriors of Light.

While yes, Seth and Gloria give off strong Tiz and Agnes vibes at first, they both grow into such different characters that they’re not really comparable. I think this shows with Adelle and Elvis even more. I do understand how people could compare Adelle and Edea, since they’re both the feisty girl type, but I can’t understand how people can see Ringabel and Elvis as the same character type. While those two are the “suave” party members, they act so differently from another. And that’s honestly apparent the first time you meet them. 

Anyways, I love these 4 so much.

We technically don’t know a lot about Seth at all, but they manage to pull so much out of just the fact that he’s a sailor, that it makes him really endearing, really fast.

I was kinda disinterested with Gloria at first, because again, the initial impression was Agnés2.0, but she grew on me a lot. Gloria is way more hard headed and honestly sassy in comparison to Agnés and I absolutely adore it.

Elvis. Elvis, my man. I love this fantasy scottosh wizard so, so much. He’s such a ridiculous character but so endearing at the same time. You got all this dorkiness, with him setting himself on fire as a student, him doing god knows what for a good drink or just laughing danger and prejudice in the face. But then you got his super empathetic and caring side. Mind you, most of his wise moments come from quoting Lady Emma, but still, as much as he’s hopeless with certain social situations, he’s actually still really good at reading the room and playing things smart. He’s a smart and powerful idiot, which makes him a danger to everyone and himself, and I love him for it. (I also can’t believe they called him Lesley I MEAN COME ON)

And then there’s Adelle. I liked her from the start, but I didn’t think she would stick out to me. I think now she’s my favourite character. Not even talking about all the stuff that happens in chapter 3 and onward, because these story threads are awesome in their own right, but there’s just something about her personality that’s interesting and appealing to me. Like I said, I’m not surprised people compare her to Edea, I did too at first, but while Edea walks very close to the line of a Tsundere, I was really surprised that Adelle is, well, not a Tsundere at all. Yeah, of course she’s putting Elvis down a lot, but that stems more from her preventing his ego from going to his head than her being all embarrassed. No, Adelle is actually really well adjusted when it comes to communication. While it’s hilarious that she and Elvis met with her chucking her shoes at him, the two just got along well right from the start. Adelle in general has this really open and helpful personality, but also doesn’t shy away from putting her foot down, even if that sometimes comes out as an embarrassed sputter. She’s also the mother hen of the group. She looks out for the other three and gets concerned about them real fast. 

I dunno, Adelle just really grew on me over the course of this game, and then her kinda being paired with Elvis too, as partners and as partners, makes me like her even more. Because as much as I like their personalities individually, I like their character dynamic even more. I honestly love the relationships between all four of them a lot. You really feel them grow closer as friends and all the little character sidequests just always made me really happy.

Conclusion

You might not believe me, but I really held back there. This could probably have been 3 times its length. As much as I love this game, it’s of course not perfect. It struggles and flails in some parts a lot and it certainly has some aspects that might turn people off. But for me, it was just a very familiar and comfy game that didn’t necessarily deliver anything new, but that told its story in such a way that it still got me excited to keep going. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and the conclusion of the story actually got me to cry. While not groundbreaking, this game is highly enjoyable and leaves you absolutely satisfied at the end.

Also, I would like to iterate that I am desperate to get more content about this game, so if you wanna chat about it, hit me up.

Anyways, anyone else felt like having a fever dream when everybody in chapter 2 started talking fantasy scottish? Cos I sure did.

[bebx]

The way they were so vague abt Slyvie's background not mentioning Thor, Frigga or even Laufey ((bc we weren't supposed to notice the paper)) says so much that S*lki were meant to be the romantic couple -bc of homophobes- and maybe ep2 lokius flirting wasn't scripted and might've just been Wilson+Hiddles chemistry PLS SAY I'M WRONG T.T

(2/2) ... “P.S. i think Slyvie's background wasn't explored bc then it will be like explicitly saying Slyvie is also Loki -like, PPL WUD ACTUALLY KNOW- and I think they wanted to show them as seperate beings for romance purposes ... hope I'm not confusing”

^^^ I suppose you’re the same anon who sent me this second ask as well? My apologies if I’m wrong. Anyway I’m gonna put these two asks together.

So my answer and my thoughts on the subject: I think there was a severe lack of communication going on in the Loki production as a whole. The director once said Loki and Sylvie’s relationship wasn’t necessary romantic, and the writer said it was a ‘love story’ while the composer who wrote the show’s soundtracks said Loki looked at Sylvie the way he looked at his mother (????)

The entire team, even the characters in the show, kept switching back and forth between saying she’s a Loki and saying she’s not a Loki (????) so it appeared Sylvie is a Loki while it’s convenient for the scene, and is not when it’s not convenient (???) I don’t even know if it makes sense but…. Yeah.

I think the fact they showed Sylvie’s childhood, when she was taken from Asgard, was also enough let the audience know she’s Loki? How Sylvie told Loki they were ‘the same’ and how He Who Remains called them ‘Loki and Loki’

Also how Marvel promoted these ‘self-love’ (?????)

My opinion, I don’t think they were being subtle at all about her being Loki.

People know they’re the same person, and Marvel had no problem letting the audience know, either.

That being said, I don’t ship them. Like. At. All. And it’s not because I ship Lokius but because

1. Sylvie is such a strong, independent character. Making her Loki’s ‘love interest’ kind of took away all of that and it kind of make the majority of the audience see her as just ‘another version of Loki that Loki fell in love with’ I think she deserved better.

2. Falling romantically in love with yourself is not — and will never be — self-love. I don’t want to sound rude, but sometimes I doubt the people behind Loki even know what the meanings of self-love and self-acceptance are, but they definitely aren’t kissing yourself.

3. They said ‘falling for himself is in character for Loki’ I disagree. Loki hates himself. He has so many issues that I believe the person who hates Loki the most, is Loki.

You wanna know which character would fall for themselves without it being out of character at all? DCEU Joker. I know they’re under different studios, but since I’m a fan of both the Joker and Loki, I’d say if I were to see a character make out with themselves, I’d expect that to be the Clown Prince of Crime since he’s already so self-obsessed. But Loki? Nah

4. The way Marvel represented Loki and Sylvie’s relationship are, in my opinion, inaccurate and harmful to genderfluid people. Because one of the stereotypical misconceptions about genderfluid people is that they ‘can only date themselves because they’re freaks’ which is inaccurate and harmful.

I also strongly disagree with Loki’s ‘have you met the female variant of us’ line. Like… tf are you talking about ‘female version’ ????? you’re genderfluid, Sylvie is genderfluid.

5. I strongly believe keeping Loki and Sylvie’s relationship platonic (instead of cliche love story but made it weirder because they’re the same person) would’ve been more meaningful and powerful

However, with the strong backlash they’re getting, about the Loki and Sylvie’s relationship, from the majority of the audience, I don’t think Marvel will still continue with this route in their future projects anymore.

Anyway….. talking about Loki and Mobius’s relationship, be it platonic or romantic, it’s the only thing I truly enjoyed about the show.

Tom recently said in an interview that about 95% of his ideas weren’t in the series at all, and only about 5% made it to the show. I don’t know if those ideas of his that we ended up seeing are the Loki and Mobius’s interactions, but nonetheless, it’s a shame how they barely listened to him at all. I mean he IS Loki. He’s played him for more than a decade. He knows him better than the rest.

I hope they listen — actually listen — to him in the second season. And I hope they fix these whole mess, too.

[bellaaldamas]

I wish I was as open minded as the OP and was able to accept Atreus/Sigyn ship at least in theory but I don't. As discussed before, she's neither foreshadowed nor would contribute to any character/story development because Gow is only loosely based on myths. It references mythology to an extent it needs to in order to explain psychological (or in some cases physical) metamorphoses of the characters and give them extra challenges and bonding points (like Angrboda and Atreus "creating" the World Serpent through performing a ritual together, with Angrboda guiding Atreus despite complete lack of guidance in her own life, just moments before her only surviving family would once again brutally denounce her; it's an unique to the in game world psychological context despite also being a reference to mythology where the Serpent is one of Loki and Angrboda's children).

The writers clearly placed extra value on Angrboda and her interactions with Atreus (down to intertwining their musical themes) to backpedal on it in a way that would be organic. Or reduce his and Angrboda's relationship to a fleeting teenage crush and "two young people who affected each other along the way but then went separate routes" trope.

Trolls using manipulation when they first complain about the lack of mythological accuracy and then in the same breath ship Atreus with a stereotypical girlboss Thrud (despite the utter lack of basis for that in either myths OR GowR context) because "Gow never stuck to myths anyway and anything can happen" is transparently ridiculous and hypocritical. Thus, I'm not one bit concerned the developers would actually give those comments a second thought. Here comes the "but".

But I've always been cautious with popular media and try not to make a cult out of a creator/studio, even if I enjoy their work a lot (we all know how "well" making a cult out of Whedon went for everyone - though I wasn't necessary in that boat as I've been considering him an overrated simpleton for years - from the consumers of his content to the long suffering cast he mercilessly terrorized and exploited).

I appreciate SMS for going a revolutionary route with Angrboda's characterization - she has to be the first female character in about 10-15 years who was allowed the full measure of agency in every aspect, including potential romance. Instead of being a yet another "girlboss" (for all my infinite love and adoration of Freya I admit she is not as revolutionary as Angrboda because she does fall under the stereotypical "strong independent woman broken by a man in the past" cliche), the writers let her openly show Atreus how comfortable she was with him. How much she didn't want for them to part (even though she let him go both times because she'd never manipulate or pressure him) as well as how much she needed him around. And it was not presented as her being "weak, pathetic or dependent" as it would have in any other modern pseudo-"feminist" media (because these days media has completely lost the sight of what feminism and empowerment actually are; as such, it romanticizes woman's brokenness and emotional reservedness as to build woman's character through pain and loss - the most ancient patriarchal type of storytelling).

However, SMS is still a producer of mainstream content and as such are not immune to bending to mainstream trends. I'm not going to discuss the matter of racial representation and stereotypes as I have no moral right to do so and it is not my place at all, my being white. But speaking strictly of the aforementioned tropes and trends, one of the common ones is throwing loving and vulnerable girls and women under the proverbial or literal bus in order to A) prop up a girlboss character type (hence the Atreus/Thrud ship some are hoping for) or B) make women/female characters interchangeable in man's story (which is how it's going to look like if Sigyn is introduced in the next game as Loki's love interest whereas Angrboda is forgotten). Whenever media does not settle for those stereotypes they get backlash and "unacceptable" female characters get more hate.

When "Uncharted" series' narrative made it clear it was going for Nathan and Elena as an endgame ship rather than Nathan and "girlboss" Chloe, Elena started getting extra hate because she wasn't "girlboss enough". Even though out of the two of them it was precisely Elena who self-made herself and didn't need men for validation. Whereas Chloe, much like Thrud, was repeatedly reduced to a filler/plot device in the arc of Nathan and the male villain and her entire storyline revolved around her role in male characters' lives.

Now, the chance for Atreus/Thrud "ship" to happen is less than zero (especially with Thrud and Skjöldr being clearly foreshadowed as a potential couple). However, SMS might play it safe by bringing in Sigyn because they would have a convenient "mythological reference but with a twist" excuse with her. This way they can get away with the lack of foreshadowing while also adhering to mainstream cliches because Angrboda's characterization and her relationship with Atreus, as mentioned above, are in itself a deconstruction of cliches; which might be too risky for popular media creators.

Which is why cautious optimism is the only way to go, from where I'm standing.

Honestly- I don't mind Sigyn and the Logyn ship itself. I just found it eye-rolling whenever I see her as a typical white woman while she's paired up with Atreus in this fandom. Understandable, since Sigyn is usually shown as a white woman throughout the media in Norse retellings.

Just feels like they preferred Atreus with a white girl instead of Angrboða, and overall made it difficult for me to like Sigyn as a additional character. Even if they made them as a throuple to add into possible poly ships in GOW, Angrboða would still be written off considering that Giants aren't entirely immortal to begin with.

And due to my experience with this fanbase, I know for sure if Sigyn were included in GOWR, those kinds of fans would have relished the romantic pairing between Atreus and Sigyn just as they did with him and Thrúd (and not to mention it would put Angrboða as the "Disposable Black GF" trope in the narrative).

It sounds like it doesn't matter if it was accurate to canon mythology or even to Sigyn, when it's hard not to feel like it mattered more for them see Atreus have a white love interest be there for him like arm candy. Funnily enough- It feels like they forgotten that Atreus isn't entirely white, but biracial/multiracial who passes off as white from the start. So their bias against Angrboða being Atreus' love interest made no sense whatsoever.

[propheticalleg]

I have a problem with the way Billy Hargrove was written

Like, yeah, he's one of my favorite characters, of course i have a fucking problem with how the Duffer bros treated him. And i’m aware that this all was said before, but, you know, NOT BY ME

They could have fun with him. It could’ve been done in different ways.

1.The Redemption Arc

Well there is a couple points to address.

First, there are characters in the show who are: complicated - Jim Hopper; redimed - Steve Harrington.

With Hopper Duffers did surprisingly good job of showing us the good and the bad in him. We see that he cares a lot about El, but his way of showing it is a bit ~toxic~. And we know why he’s so protective of her. He lost a child before. Hopper doesn’t want to see it again. That’s the reason. But it’s not an excuse, is it?

And with Steve. Umm...well a bit of the confession i think Duffers dumbed him down just a tad too much. I get what they were going for. Lovable, bit of an idiot, with bite to his character and a heart of gold. And i praise and respect Joe Keery for his talent! Great job, not his fault. But i don’t think Duffers really respect Steve Harrington. It shows sometimes through the other characters. But anyway. Duffers redeemed Steve even though he was supposed to die a bully.

Second, the racism. 

There is a definet reason people are divided on this topic. Is Billy racist or not? Well show accidentally made it up to interpretation. Duffers wanted to make a cliche 80s bully. They didn’t follow through, but more on that later. Also the show in general handels this topic weirdly

And then there’s Dacre Montgomery. If you’ve listened or read his interviews you know that this man understands that people are not cliches. And he chose not to play Billy as a racist. Whether you like it or not can read that through the screen.

Was Billy wrong with how he treated Lucas? Absolutely! Billy Hargrove fans are in fact not blind to this.

And that’s how you get mixed message instead of characteristic.

So, how this could be handled? First route (one that is popular with fans): Its Billys father who is racist and that’s why he doesn’t want Lucas around Max. Second route: Billy should be told that racism is in fact bad and get educated on the topic. Please, oh please, to tell him that he is wrong. Educate him. Let him digest and accept this. He is 17-18 years old, there is a high chance that he can change. That happens in real life.

And that could be historically realistic. You know that there should be more racists in Hawkins in the 80s. I know that the show is a work of fiction, but c’mon. Ah, well, already said that this topic is handled weirdly. 

Third, Billys relationship with Max is written poorly, but the sentiment is there.

Their relationship is one of the biggest reasons why i like Billy.

At crisp age of ten a was gifted with sibling. I love them to death. I will become a sinner for them. But I didn’t want a younger sibling. Like. At all. So, I have very complicated feelings towards them that they are not aware off, cause they are ten. And believe me when i say it: getting a sibling at semi-conscious age when you weren’t planing on them is a traumatic experience,  no matter how dumb it sounds. And the fucking frustration of having to look after them is real. There was a couple of years when i was THE fucking babysitter, really exhausting, very anger producing. Props to my parents for understanding and fixing this as soon as they could.

(also had a beef with fourteen year olds at school when i was 16-17,not to demonize twelve to fourteen y.o., but they can be the special kind of annoying)

Both antis and stans had a problem with how Max was written in season 4. For the same reason actually. Because Duffers.

In season two we see that Max and Billy don’t like each other. Ok, great. Then season three Max cares for Billy when he gets possessed and was seemingly very upset when he died. In vol.1 this continuous with the letter (the part that got antis upset) and then suddenly in vol.2 Max says that Billy didn’t deserve to live (where stans got upset). Well i was upset both times. I was upset since season three, because there were no explanation of how we got from one to another. We all understand that Billy and Max had complicated relationship and all of the above can exist! It can be the emotional swing that it is, but when you looking at a swig you can see how it goes from one high to another.

Verdict: rewrite them from the beginning. Show us more. Duffers that’s the visual entertainment you’re giving us. SHOW DON’T TELL

That’s mainly it with the redemption. I mean there is also a fight at Byers, but that;s pretty self-explanatory.

2. MAKE BILLY AN ANTAGONIST WE WOULD ALL LOVE TO HATE

Duffers, you could have made Billy an absolute legend of a asshole. You could make him ridiculous! Let him be not only cliche, but something worse. You have real monsters in your world. Your world has goofy heroes and they are realistic (Murray), why not make an entertaining antagonist?!

But, ah well, Duffers fucked up a cliche. I really don’t how they so successfully failed.

[fireemblems24]

Post Grondor Field AM Analysis

I'm prefacing this by saying that I'm still not sure I can write a good analysis of this scene for two reasons:

1. I don't know what comes after, and

2. I'm very emotionally involved in what happened.

But I tried my best. One thing is for sure though, what happened in Grondor in AM was an incredibly significant turning point for AM and Dimitri and my thoughts and analysis on it will definitely expand as I keep writing about and playing the game.

Part of me is just so happy I got to see Dimitri's supports, have the inevitable turn around, and get to do things like tea and dinner time again that it's hard to be objective about this scene.

And by "this scene," I don't mean that actual fight at Grondor, but everything from Fleche's attack to Byleth's words in the rain later.

It wasn't all about Byleth . . .

Given how poignant Dimitri's character arc has been so far, I had a deep rooted fear player-pandering would ruin it. Byleth, as a concept, isn't bad, but too often the heaps of praise feel underserved and other things (like Claude's intelligence, Edelgard's relationships with everyone else) get ignored to make more room for player-pandering.

Thankfully this did not happen. Byleth, throughout the early chapters of AM's part 2, failed to reach Dimitri. And, honestly, seeing Byleth actually struggle for once has done wonders for how I view her character. Still, I worried that player-pandering-power, rather than something that felt earned, would cause the inevitable eye-opener for Dimitri.

But it wasn't just Byleth. Fleche's vengeance kicked everything off, what veered Dimitri away from his fate in other routes. He accepted his death at her hands, not bothering to defend himself. Rodrigue stepping in the way and his parting words forced Dimitri to confront things he'd ignored. Throughout AM so far, people have posed questions to Dimitri who refused to answer them because he didn't want to face what they asked. But Rodrigue dying for him, spending his final words telling Dimitri to live for himself - combined with Fleche's attack - forced Dimitri to confront things he avoided. It wasn't until after all of that when Byleth steps in.

And Byleth didn't "fix" him either. Dimitri's supports show a young man who's still very much struggling with his mental health, poor self-image, his previous actions, and wondering if he deserves not only to live for himself - but if he even deserves to live. Byleth didn't hand-wave Dimitri's problems away.

Everything about the scene is stronger because it didn't fall back on player-pandering, but more earned, realistic, and dramatic actions and consequences - including Byleth's involvement which felt far more earned than usual because of prior failure.

But I wish Dimitri's friends played a bigger role.

Not everything was perfect though. I wish we got a little more than we did from Dimitri's house mates - especially his childhood friends Sylvain, Ingrid, and extra special mention to Felix and especially, especially Dedue.

Throughout all of AM, none of the above mentioned characters feel utilized to their full potential. This isn't a problem exclusive to AM, and by all means it's far from the biggest offender, but given how close all the ties are in AM, it's felt when it's not there.

I still don't know what exactly I would've done with them. Maybe I'd need to make the game an actual novel to do it, and you can't forget how perma-death has historically held back games at times, limiting major moments to a select few "retreat" candidates.

Still, though, getting a bit more from Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, and Dedue would've made the scene even more powerful.

I actually really liked the scene in the rain.

I haven't made it a secret that I dislike Byleth. Or maybe disliked is more accurate. Lately I've been rethinking my stance on Byleth, in part because I've heard from people who like her or found ways to make her work and from my own thinking about the game while planning future write ups.

I don't think it's Byleth I really dislike, but the player-pandering. Separating the two isn't easy, but it's easier since I've starting coming around to seeing Byleth as her own character.

There's been a few moments that made me care for Byleth, and this scene in the rain was one of them. Because she didn't just fix everything. She tried and failed for months to reason with Dimitri, and despite everything she never gave up on him or failed to keep offering her hand.

I'm not going to lie. I got all the bubbly, heartwarming, heartbreaking feels the writers wanted me to in this scene. Seeing Byleth reach for something and fail, and then finally, finally get through was rewarding in a way many of Byleth's prior accomplishments aren't because this one felt earned. And by God did she earn it.

Some people will likely disagree with that last point, but I disagree with them. She asked Dimitri hard-hitting questions, forcing him to come to unpleasant conclusions rather than trying to force him into anything. She kept Dimitri from veering to far off course, even at expense to herself when she killed Randolph. She saved Dimitri from Fleche when he refused to save himself. She quietly supported him, coaxing out the good she knew was still there and refused to give up on.

I'd never in a million years say someone in real life should put up with Dimitri's toxic behavior and verbal abuse, even considering his extreme trauma and aggravated mental illness. But seeing someone fuck up so badly still get forgiven, still get supported, still struggle but honestly change for the good, still get loved, start to accept and forgive himself through the power of love and forgiveness from others is very powerful, especially since media so often downplays those "softer" things as weakness in comparison to the "badassery" of ambition and stoicism. Using Byleth, who previously had little experience with feelings, who was encouraged to experience them in healthy ways by Dimitri, return the favor isn't really the worst choice.

It's cliche, but cliches aren't always bad.

The mentor dies. Redemption in the rain. Revenge against the protagonist's actions opens their eyes. Etc . . . This scene was chuck full of cliches, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Tropes serve an important narrative purpose because a writer can rely on them to convey a message to the audience that either saves time or sets them up for something unexpected or even expected. Fire Emblem has always and will always be incredibly cliche and full of tropes. It loves tropes so much there's in-universe ones that make some unit or character discussions sound like a foreign language to people outside of or new to the fandom, talking about "Ests" and calling someone a "Camus."

What matters is if a story pulled something off well, not if it's terribly unique. A mentor dying is powerful because it forces the student to grow. Redemption in the rain is high symbolic of water washing things away + the somber atmosphere rain creates. Someone trying to get revenge against a character provides an eye-opening experience about the ripple effect of their actions. We see these things in fiction all the time because they work.

All the tropes worked like expected in this scene. Using images instead of cut scenes did make less of an impact, but more on that later.

Tl;dr: There's nothing unexpected or terribly unique about what happened. It was honestly painfully predictable, but that doesn't make it bad and is in a series that does this all of the time.

The voice acting carried because those images can't.

A major downside to this scene is that it used vague images instead of a cut scene. I get that budget and time were likely concerns, but many cut scenes from earlier in the game seem rather trivial. Did we really need that dance one? Really? I don't think so.

This was a hugely important, action heavy moment. Using one or two still images to convey everything that's happening and all those emotions, really makes it less than it could've been.

That said, the voice acting saves it. I've raved about how amazing Chris Hackeny is as Dimitri, so nothing new here. Rodrigue's and Fleche's VAs also did a fantastic job. No one oversold or undersold the emotions. Even without the cut scene, you felt what happened thanks to the skill of the actors. This scene would've been so much harder to engage with without them, if this was an older FE game where all you got was text. This is 100% one of the moments highly elevated by the decision to have a fully voiced game and choosing high caliber talent (let's not talk about Radiant Dawn's voice acting).

Questionable support timing.

One issue I had came right after the scene when I viewed Dimitri's supports. The nature of some - like his with Raphael and Alois - didn't quite line up with the character I saw in dialogue right after. I wish they staggered them a bit more or got picker about what you could get in part 1 or 2.

This isn't limited to Dimitri either. In the same support batch, I also got a Marianne B support where she still had no confidence or self-worth. And then like 10 minutes later I talk to her in the monastery and she mentions about how seeing all the death in Grondor made her value her life even more.

In the past, I've also received entirely valid opinions that Dorothea in part 2 is hard to understand because she's cherry and flirty in her supports, and morose and hates the war in her monastery stuff, making her seem inconsistent.

It's a bit jarring. It's not really an issue for characters who don't change much like Edelgard or Raphael, but even for characters with more subtle differences than Dimitri, Marianne, and Dorothea - like, say, Lorenz - you get a lot of weird stuff because of supports. I just think Dimitri's stands out because he's a main character with a really prominent, important turning point for his growth.

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter Forty-Six

...Holy shit McMahon’s a badass!

Alright alright! Another week, another chapter full of tension and suspense. If it felt like it was a short one, that’s because it was; there were about three pages less than usual, but that didn’t hold it back from being as entertaining as always. I’m sure Endo is focusing on the remaining arc, plus he has his hands full with the new novel that’s coming in a few weeks. In any case, this chapter was straightforward like the last one, so let’s just get into it shall we?

The girls are back! Not really my favorite characters, but I did like seeing them get some attention (beer and sausages after work sounds awesome btw). Also I like the bit about HR being in on Yor’s cover story, too. Tough to say if the whole department is in on things or is just select individuals like McMahon. Either way, the attention to detail is very on brand for Endo and always appreciated.

I was also intrigued by Yor’s relationship with her boss in the beginning. She is very much someone who listens to authority figures, but it did seem strange to me what a tight grip McMahon has on her. Clearly he’s perceptive and collected, and -as we find out later in the chapter- an extremely capable assassin in his own right. More on that in a sec, but first-

-KDSLJFR;AKWJ; LQK4RFGWJLVK ER!

DO I EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS??

Loid forger everyone! A total sap for his wife (as he should be!) The blush. The awkward stutter. I was not expecting Endo to dangle some sweet, sweet TwiYor in front of us like this, but I definitely ain’t complaining! It hasn’t even been one day since they split up, and already he’s commenting how lonely it is without Yor there. It reminds me of chapter 24 where she kept avoiding dinner, and Loid immediately took notice. Both he and Anya know where the Forger house stand; things just aren’t the same without mama around.

Also just pointing out that Yor in Thorn Princess mode is always impressively badass. The shift in her demeanor is always immediately apparent, and whenever she shows off her assassination prowess like here it instantly reminds you that she’s a legendary hitman who’s been taking lives since she was a child. It’s always surreal knowing that the Yor we know and love is only a recent development; Thorn Princess was very much her main ego before meeting Loid and Anya, hence why this arc will be so compelling for her character. What will happen Thorn Princess? (Probably still be around, but the drama is juicy regardless lol).

We already knew coming into this arc that Yor’s relationship with her family would be an important aspect of the story, and now that we know there’s going to be a possible family day at the end of it all really adds another layer of uncertainty to everything. I say uncertainty because Endo may go to the route he’s always gone before and end the arc on a lighthearted note, or he may further explore the underlying angst that’s slowly been creeping on the forgers since the events of the tennis arc. Personally, I would of course prefer the former, but the latter would also be a compelling way to further drive the conflict of the story.

Yor feeling detached from her “fake” family, or perhaps Loid being suspicious of her again? There’s a lot of different ways this boat trip could turn sour- I just really hope that it doesn’t!

Not while McMahon is on it, anyway! Goddamn, this guy surprised me! I should have expected someone working directly under Shopkeeper to be capable in combat, but McMahon looks like he could give Loid and Yor a run for their money! I’m obsessed with his calm demeanor and the casualness with which he carries himself while effortlessly cracking bones and limbs. And when he’s done interrogating him? *chef’s kiss* Cold blooded. Methodical. This dude is my new favorite side character, hands down. Can’t wait to see more of what he can do in the coming chapters!

Speaking of, forty-six ends on another cliffhanger. This time, we’re unsure of who’s on the other side of the door. There aren’t any interesting panels to dissect this week, so instead let’s do some theorizing and think about who could be knocking.

It’s McMahon, after having just bolted down the hall to warn the girls. A somewhat likely scenario.

It’s some assassins out to get the Gretchers. At first you might say absolutely not; what kind of an assassin knocks on a door before barging in? And to that I’d say; what if they wanted to draw attention to themselves? Perhaps they’re in disguise as ship personnel or room service, or are simply gauging the room to see if anyone’s inside before slipping away to return at a later time? I’d say this is the most likely scenario, though not my favorite (seems kinda cliche to me, but meh).

My actual favorite; it’s Loid and Anya! It could happen a couple different ways, most likely because Anya happened to hear her mama’s thoughts or perhaps they caught a glimpse of her walking down the hall with Olka. I’ll admit this would be a huge stretch, but it would be great giving Loid and Anya a chance to meet Olka and the baby before inevitably becoming entangled in all the assassination shenanigans. Also knowing Endo, he’s probably got something up his sleeve next chapter for both of them (really I just want the chaos!)

These are the scenarios that myself and others have tossed around, but I’m sure there are others. Do you have one that’s different? Feel free to share, and in the meantime we’ll sit (im)patiently for another two weeks to see what’s really behind that door!

Also, BONUS!

Never change, Anya-

[otomelavenderhaze]

Hello! If you could change some things about Rayan's route in college, what would it be?

I swear, if you had asked me this before, like, two years before or something, I would 100% say nothing, because I'm that much of a sucker and simp for Rayan in college life, but since it's been a while and Love Life is over, I do have my notes about it. Btw, hello <3

First I would give Rayan an arc.

But it would be an arc that you would only see in his route because it would've to do with him falling in love for Candy - I wouldn't have made him fall for her at first sight like he admits on Love Life, I would've made it a little less easy for him (yes, the fact that he's her teacher is not conflict enough to me, specially when you have something as delicious as someone that was incapable of falling in love or bring himself to have a relationship with another person for 7 years since his wife died and then making him falling in love for our gal Candy - like how you ignore any sort of anxiety, uneasiness or such that it would represent to someone like Rayan that went through that much).

So yeah, I would've made him be even more vunerable and even less in the control of the situation than he was - but nothing too hardcore, just enough to make him come out as more clumisy and more like "I can't resist her" kinda of situation. Specially because those small scenes that we had with a similiar setup that I just described, used to be some of my favorite moments on his route.

If this didn't wouldn't even be an option, I would just somehow mesh his arc with Nathaniel's and have Rayan help Nathaniel instead of having Eric that never really showed up on College Life to be doing things off screen - since Rayan is so freaking calm for everything, he would've been the voice of reason in helping Nath.

I also wouldn't have toned down Rayan's route like they did.

Meaning: he and Candy would've 100% make out sessions/sex on one of the classrooms at night, also, totally a scene on the library too, then another one on her bedroom, I would've put them to travel together to keep things low profile too, I would've actually made them discuss maybe even fight about sneaking around at some point - I would go fully cliche at it, just to balance out how flawless Rayan is.

I like challenging situations. Many of the situations we had on Rayan's route that he and Candy went for risks without they really having to felt weak and silly sometimes so I would raise the stakes a little bit - but also give amazing rewards with emotional/heartfelt scenes where his vulnerability would shiny.

I also would give Rayan a cat.

I would've also picked other ilus for his route.

I would've made one ilus of them both sitting on his bed, with her using his glasses and reading for him, and him looking sleepy/at peace close to her (idea: Sex on the City 1st movie).

I would've done another one when he would hold her wrists up and lead on to kiss her and she would be smiling (idea: Comte's birthday stories in ikevamp, I don't remember which one, I think it was his second or first year).

Them kissing on the library but shielded by a bookcase where in the back or to the side of the ilus, you would see ppl studying/passing by.

Of course one ilus of them in one of the classrooms making out with her sittin on his table and him standing and kissing her.

And I think that's it.