#she's one of those characters i love to hate
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You know how elevated fandoms would get if we openly discussed stuff like Nightfall's emotional motivations without questions about shipping coming in because this has absolutely nothing to do with shipping. I just can't help looking away from how happy Twilight looks in Nightfall's imaginings. She's imagining their wedding and she doesn't even see herself smiling. Of course she would be happy if it happened (it won't), but the focus of her own fantasy is his happiness.
And what I'm trying to say here is that if the genders were reversed, if Twilight was a woman slowly building a relationship with a guy she's fake married to, and Nightfall as a guy came strutting in, all confident that he'll win her heart and make her happy, fully prepared to dedicate himself to her, with her and her happiness as his top priority, the fandom would be drooling over him. Think about how many love triangles are created because a confident broody guy appears who is willing to fight for his female beloved's heart even by steering her away from the one the fandom first shipped her with. Think about how many of those "dark, broody men" become fan favourites and blorbos. But the moment this happens with a woman we're ready to crucify her - even when the narrative itself wants you to sympathize with her.
Like, I'm not saying y'all should love Nightfall right the f now. But fandoms are weird in a way where they prioritize shipping and are also much more critical of female characters than they are of male characters. And Nightfall is the perfect victim for this combination... and it's just so sad because the narrative doesn't want you to do that. It doesn't want you to compare the two ships because it makes it clear that her fantasy is a dream that will never come true. There is no ship comparison to make because there is no other ship. It doesn't want you to hate her because it gives her traits that show that her true motivation is respect for Twilight, the guy we're supposed to connect with and root for - respect to the point where she doesn't even consider lying to him to get in his good grades.
Nightfall's story is not about her being the "annoying hypotenuse" or the "deceiving, seducing vixen"... it's currently tragic. She dedicates her entire being to make herself worthy of the man she's in love with, and that blinds her to what exactly he truly finds worthy in another person. So she ends up being the exact opposite of that and giving him a 100% wrong idea. And it's also, ultimately, not what will make her happy. No-one becomes happy by dedicating their entire being to becoming perfect for someone else, we become happy when we're accepted for who we are.
And idk Nightfall is an amazing flip on such tropes and it's done so simply that I honestly wish to see more of her, and to see her grow and realize where she's gone wrong and to try and focus on her own happiness. A happiness she can reach by being honest to herself first and foremost, and by not being aggressive towards people she thinks are being "obstacles" on her way towards it.
(anime only here, don't spoil me for the manga)
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Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 9 part 4
(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])
(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1][2][3] ep7 [1][2][3][4][5][6] ep8 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] ep9 [1][2][3][4])
it's still agatha and her river
mama, I'm sorry I got upset. mama I'm sorry we're both starving tonight. I promise I'll do better tomorrow.
a six year old taking responsibility and apologizing for his mother's shortcomings.
agatha looks down at her precious little boy's pleading face
and she smiles at him, and nicky gives her a big relieved grin.
evanora is not stealing this moment. she did her worst to fuck with agatha's brain chemistry, but in one fundamental thing she failed: agatha is capable of loving her kid. despite all her other shortcomings, she will never blame nicky for her own faults.
she does a cute little dance for him, and this is what they do, isn't it? he's too small to explain his big feelings and she is too scared, and so they sing to each other and hope the love is understood anyway.
see how he touches the brooch? if only she could have loved nicky in vacuum, without any of the emotional baggage. but he is only the last link in a long chain of witches, pain and and tears and blood that made him what he is. agatha cannot escape her identity and legacy no matter how much she tries, and she couldn't protect nicky from it either.
the last time she sees nicky alive he's smiling adoringly at her. this is the boy she can't face in the afterlife, because her own guilt is so strong she's convinced he will hate her.
nicky dies peacefully in his mother's arms. his soul wakes up and sees rio waiting for him.
that some good cinema dear lord
rio waves at nicky. he doesn't know her (when who will return?) but he still trusts her implicity - she's been around him his whole short life, in the woods, in the water, in his lungs.
and - the bit that destroyed us all - she makes nicky go to agatha one last time. go kiss your mama goodbye.
light and dark, growth and decay, here and beyond.
remember when alice died and the camera turned upside down? ot stops halfway here. agatha has been affected so profoundly by nicky's death that she can never let herself go back to the land of the living, but she's also too scared to follow rio to the other side. she's stuck in the middle, consumed by the impossible dream of bringing nicky back, never allowing herself to find peace and companionship again. in love with death, but running away from it.
(people never seem to make crack and humor vids for episode 9, isn't that curious? when it's soooo fun and lighthearted!)
well ain't that just brutal
I have always known
This Road is cruel and wild
I bury my own heart
Here with you, my child
(I think those are lavender flowers? I'm not 100% sure)
coolcoolcoolcoolcool. that's fine. I'm absolutely fine.
BARRIERS UP right away. even if she looks like a mess. especially because she looks like a mess. she's not showing weakness in front of anyone, she's protecting her grief like a jealous goblin, and since she cannot run, she straightens her dress and gets ready to fight. the option to ask for help and comfort doesn't even cross her mind.
her eyes still full of tears / agatha gets another wonderful, awful idea.
we've seen this so many times, haven't we? the real agatha disappears behind the character she plays. the agatha we've seen from the very start, since the moment she walked into wanda's living room, has been a lie. very few people have ever seen a hint of the poor bruised heart she hides inside, and only to rio and (to some extent) nicky she has ever opened up.
how can someone go from total heartbreak to planning murder in the span of two minutes? well, you can if you are agatha harkness and have never learned one healthy coping mechanism in your life. and I'm sure she's already rationalizing it as something like "if I get powerful enough I can bring nicky back." but the truth is, she just wants to get drunk on magic and murder and stop feeling so horrible. she's running away, like usual. she's planning to kill witches in front of the grave of the very kid who begged her not to, and she's using his song to do it. as if that's not gonna haunt her or anything.
(it really gets me how agatha's smiles are so different from kathryn's. agatha never smiles with her eyes, except when she's with nicky.)
agatha's diabolical scam is so stupid if you think about, definitely worthy of the clown she has become. just pretend the Road didn't open and then annoy people into attacking you! better than using a literal child as bait, I guess.
here she absorbs a yellow coven, and yep, it does look like covens are all supposed to be the same color?
the bodies from the agnes of westview opening.
orange coven in the late 1800s. I really like that dress and hat on her
blue coven in the 1920s, and another cunty outfit
I know you guys like the 90s look, but it makes me laugh how hard she was trying for that Craft vibe. and we don't see the beams color here.
and finally, our girls. (I miss you all so muchhhhh)
what do you know! looks like a door has appeared! (sharonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!)
from fuck has my karma caught up with me to well well well, looks like we have another little maximoff on our hands
and speaking of little maximoffs and giant assholes...
go to episode 9 part 5
#agatha all along#agatha deep dive#agatha harkness#nicholas scratch#character analysis#tw: child death
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“I can show you that not all men are like that.”
Character: Damian Wayne/Robin
Authors note: most likely not reviewed for spelling errors or mistakes lmfao, this is more of a blurb tbh. In the middle of writing this, I caused a gigantic spill all over my side table and onto my carpet so I was over it lmfao. I’m sorry that it isn’t longer :( I hope all of you have a safe and exciting new years! Let’s hope 2025 treats everyone with happiness and respect <3
Being Jon’s best friend and longtime partner, it was easy to tell when Jon was distracted and other times, it was very easy to get distracted with him. Today was one of those days where you and Jon were just being menaces to everyone that was around the two of you. You had known Jon since you entered the league under Dinah’s wing. From that point, you and him stuck to each other which made it seem like the two of you were more of siblings than friends and when Damian walked into the picture, you knew that you hit a certain nerve every time you were being particularly loud and obnoxious.
You walked into the lair hoping that Jon would be there, under the guise of seeing if he had down some of the work done that the two of you shared for a college class. The two of you went to a local college in Smallville and even though you were both getting different degrees, required classes had the two of you stuck in general English class together.
“Damian!” You said as you noticed his boots at the door, “my lovely friend who admits to hating me but secretly doesn’t!” You sang as you walked into the common area. You saw that him looking through his computer, half annoyed and angry.
“Where’s Jon, I need him,” you finally said. Damian pointed at the computer that showed that Jon was out on a mission to which he didn’t tell either of you, “that little fucking rat, are you kidding me?” You said rhetorically, “he didn’t tell he was out on a mission for an entire week! We were assigned as partners this week,” you added on.
Damian scoffed, “who do you think got assigned to Gotham until he returns?” You pushed him out of the way as you read that you were assigned to do patrols with Damian until Jon came back to help you patrol Smallville. You stomped on the ground like an angry toddler realizing you’d be out of your house all week, “I could cry, who assigned me here and why didn’t they think to tell me?” You asked. Damian giggled as you realized that Jon must’ve put you in his place until he came back.
“Well, I guess I have to hang around here all week,” you said in a huff, “gut I guess there’s one good thing about this, you’ll be stuck with me!” You added as you turned around to Damian and started giggling.
By that point, Bart and Cassie walked in as she ran over to you, “did you go on the date with that guy from your accounting class?” She asked as she practically dragged you to the couch, “yeah but it was a blow. The typical college guy as you can expect except this time, the moron decided it’d be a good idea to leave me the bill from dinner and not come back.”
Damian, Bart, and Jaime who had walked down the stairs a few moments before stared at you in shock.
“What? I never said that my love life was skyrocketing in success,” you said in annoyance. Damian put his hand up to pause you, “you’re meaning to tell me the guy left you with the bill and left without a goodbye?” You nodded in agreement, still confused as to what he was trying to insinuate, “and this normal?”
You thought for a moment, “well, the last two guys, one stood me up before I could go on the date and the other guy ghosted me at the restaurant so technically this is a first for me,” you recalled. The boys, who were now hanging their heads in disappointment couldn’t help but sigh, “listen, this conversation was between Cas and I. Why are all of you so interested now?” You asked, popping in a piece of candy Bart had left on the table.
Cassie rolled her eyes as she looked back at you, “Well, what about Jon’s friend? Weren’t the two of you just texting?” You rolled your eyes, “he’s a nice guy but definitely just a friend. I think I’m doomed and there’s no love in my future.”
Before anyone else could say anything, your communicators had went off indicating that you and Damian were now scheduled to patrol. You went over to Damian and jumped on his back, instantly getting a shout from the boy, “do you ever think she’ll realize that Damian likes her?” Bart asked Cassie. Cassie laughed dramatically, “not in a million years unless something or someone makes it click in her head.”
-
It wasn’t often that you and Damian patrolled together and the times that you did, Jon was usually came along. You didn’t hate Damian but you could tell that he wasn’t exactly your biggest fan. You wondered if this was because of your relationship with Jon or if you were just too loud and obnoxious for his liking. You knew Damian barely tolerated Jon at first but the two of you had known each other for years now and it definitely seemed like there was a dislike from Damian to you.
“So, you go any other unfortunate dates to share to the class?” Damian mocked. You rolled your eyes, not in the mood to deal with his obnoxious attitude, “well, not that I’d ever share that with you but yes I do. I have a case of bad luck in the romance department,” you admitted hoping that he’d get off your case.
Damian didn’t say a thing for a moment.
“Well, what’s the worse?” He asked. You thought a few minutes until you started laughing in embarrassment and slight annoyance, “well, I can see why you’d make fun of me for this but I think the worst date I ever went on was last year. I matched with a guy on this app and we went out to dinner only for the idiot to not realize that his girlfriend’s best friend worked at the restaurant. In my defense, I clearly didn’t realize that he was cheating on her with me so you can imagine the look I had on my face when the girl smacked him and proceeded to berate him in front of the entire restaurant.”
Damian stared at you in shock, not really knowing what to say.
“I thankfully got off lucky when I told her that I didn’t know he was cheating but it was still embarrassing nonetheless,” you continued. Damian looked into the alley, hoping that no one heard what he was about to say. Damian sighed knowing what he was about to say was coming out like word vomit, “well, I can show you that not all men are like that.”
You gave him a look of confusion.
“Listen, I know I haven’t been the nicest to you and you’re not that stupid to not realize it,” you flicked him in the forehead as he continued, “but I figured I’d rather be the one to show you that some men are actually good out there.”
“Wait, this isn’t you pitying me, is it? Because if it is, I’m going to kick you ass,” you said taking out your baton and swinging it in the air. Damian lowered the baton and gave you a sincere look, “I’m not kidding. Tomorrow after patrol, we can switch shift with Tim and Steph and I’ll take you out.”
You couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“If you end up backing out last minute, Batman is going to be down a son.”
Damian flicked you on the forehead as he assured you that this time, maybe you weren’t going to be so unlucky.
#dc#dc imagine#dc x reader#dc comics#damian wayne x you#damian wayne imagine#damian wayne x reader#damian wayne#robin imagine#robin x reader#dc robin#comic fanfiction#comics imagine
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HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS TIME GAMERSSSS
omg daffy with the save!!! i guess she’s not really wrong, traveling herbs are basically superpowers, but THAT’S MY FAVE!!!
ooh no. him staying “still can’t half hear” makes me wonder if any hearing will return at all, but i guess that’s for the epilogues! but in any case getting more on blacknose after it all is always a win… happy she’s still ‘here’ in a sense.
OH SO NIGHTBERRY ISN’T STAYING BECAUSE OBLIGATION SHE’S JUST STAYING SO COOTSTORM ISN’T ALONE AND BECAUSE OF TRAVEL AND CYPRESSFOOT??? :(((( MAN!!!!! though technically nightberry.. probably doesn’t have long left, so cootstorm will still be on her lonesome. tbh even though i hate cootstorm i eagerly wait to see if we get an epilogue for her, just to dig into her mind during isolation…
MAGIC EYEBALL POWERS AOFJRKENEKEN NOOOOO
AYO!!! THE CHARACTER ARC!! LET’S GO PLUMSTRIPE!! i love how they start on ‘we’ but then goes back onto ‘i’, major props to plumstripe for taking that first step and moving beeface on to apologize too!!
agehehhh beeface’s apology :(( god god i am NOT GOING TO CRY OVER CAT COMIC TODAY NOOOOOO!!!
OH WOW DAFFY DOESN’T ACCEPT HER APOLOGY???? to be honest.. LETS GO DAFFY GO STAND YOUR GROUND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE APOLOGY BUT DON’T FEEL PRESSURED TO ACCEPT IT!!!! i think a daffy near the start of this probably would have just said “i accept your apology” to just.. get it over with, but my girl has GROWN!!!!!!!! SHE IS COMFORTABLE IN HER OWN SKIN AND WILLING TO DEFEND HERSELF!!! LETS FUCKING GOOOOO!!! i don’t want to say 100% because i could be illiterate but daffy’s mentor relationship with beeface can probably be described as abusive?? so i am very proud of her for voicing what she needs and saying she wants to go no contact!!! and yes it is stupid to say i’m proud of a fictional kitty but I DON’T CARE !!! DAFFY I’VE SEEN YOU GROWWWWW
god i’m so curious as to what bee would’ve done if plum wasn’t there, but also i’m overjoyed plum stopped.. whatever was gonna happen. cain and abel more like slugpelt and rainhaze amrite??
YES TALK ABOUT YOUR EMOTIONS CHILDREN!!!! yess daffy!!!!! very happy with her realizations that she doesn’t need a mate and/or kits to be fulfilled, but even if she tries and it doesn’t work out she has people… that’s my girl!!!! there is so much love in her heart and it’s growing every day.. she’s been through so much and still she just loves her family and her friends and wants to share even more of it.. AGGGGG DAFFY YOU’RE SO GROWNNNNNN AGGEGGVV!!!!
i forgot this was the pinewing comic for a second my bad. blinded by my favorite. anyways yes this is so stupid but i love the reminder that he and corm are ‘official’ now. they’re in love hehehe!!!!
yesyes please visit guys
SPOOKY BRAIN MAGIC LMAOOO i hope even when pinewing visits she never stops calling the magic funny names. it’s so good
oh they’re gonna visit asphodelshine i guess i am crying.. i forget what blue borders mean are those imagination? she does also look so much older.. are those daffy’s imagined kits or are those the stillborns that came before them..?
OH THIS IS STILL GOING OKAY I’M BUCKLING BACK IN
WAIT WHEN DID SLUG BREAK A LEG????? was this because of south park raccoon’s chomping or???
NO SLUG NO WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!! DON’T LEAVE YOU BEHIND!! NO ROTTING!!
oh gawd pinewing just wants his mom what if i cried again.. don’t rot for the dead live for the.. living idk i’m trying to sound cool but i’m too emotional over kitty cat comic.
CORM HELLO
awggeghh his home isn’t this place it’s the people…
“this time you’ll have me” GAY!! GAY PEOPLE!!! OH WOW THEY’RE SO GAY. they’re so adorable raz i did not go here expecting one of the cutest couples in fiction hello??
HI STRANGER ALNELEBELEIEKEJE I THINK I MIGHT LOVE YOU OH KY GODBSKDNEKDJD LET’S GO FIND SOMEWHERE NEW!! THIS PANEL IS SO PRETTY!! RAHHHHHHHHHHH
i love this comic so much.. i cannot believe it is ending but at least we have funny gay people…
I am gonna miss getting your issue reactions so badly! What a journey it's been!! :,)
Pinewing is now permanently hard of hearing in his scarred ear, because Hacksaw was able to damage some of his inner ear as well as the outer skin.
Yeah, even if she wasn't super old and weary, Nightberry wouldn't want to leave her daughter behind in isolation like this. To her, she's already fulfilled her last duty - telling Pinewing about oracles - so she can rest a little easier now. Cootstorm does have an epilogue, and I am super excited to get to it. >:]
Plumstripe's been having her own little character arc in the background of the last ten-ish issues, and this is where it really comes to the forefront! She's a lot guiliter and more unsure than Beeface is, but she's okay with guiding the two of them. And yeah, it was important to me that Daff accepted the apology but didn't forgive! It's okay to not forgive your abusers, and still want to them to become better people at the same time.
So real for being blinded by Daffodilcloud, she is wonderful and should be appreciated at all times.
Someday, in the future, Daffodilcloud: hey Pinewing can you find lunch for us with your brain lasers?
Pinewing: alright,
Blue borders are hypotheticals/imagination, yes! Daff is imagining what it could have been like for Asphodelshine to be an aunt to her own kittens in the future that never was.
Slugpelt broke her leg when Deepdark kicked her!
At heart I'm just a big sap who wants things to work out okay. And I like telling stories about people who get to have love and keep surviving despite the hard things they go through. Thanks for reading. <3
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Controversial opinion but I think Lucifer gets babied too much by the fandom. Like I get that he has mental health issues but seeing all this fanmedia of women and men of color nannying this white-adjacent man who has been shown to be an incompetent and absent husband, father and leader. Just. Grinds my gears.
Not saying I hate Lucifer but... when people frame past radiostatic with current radioapple as a huge upgrade, it reeks of a woman leaving her abusive ex for a neglectful husband. While I'm glad Lucifer is a step up from Adam, I need to see actual improvements if I don't want to get the ick.
Agreed.
I massively agree.
Lucifer gets babied a lot. And like you said, yes, he has mental health issues and that's valid, but a lot of the time, it feels like his mental health issues become a scapegoat for his flaws and bad behavior.
Depression is a legit reason for Lucifer to struggle to maintain relationships and reach out to those he cares about. As someone who has suffered from depression, I understand pulling away from people, feeling like you need a reason to reach out to someone, having a negative opinion of oneself, getting overwhelmed with anxiety, even ignoring other people's attempts at reaching out to me because it's just...too hard and it's too much and you're stuck in this cycle that you can't break out of.
HOWEVER
Lucifer's depression doesn't take away from the fact that he's neglected Charlie as a parent. It doesn't negate the fact that he has acted condescendingly towards her and her ambitions. It doesn't counteract the fact that Charlie felt uncomfortable and awkward for a majority of their interactions in "Dad Beat Dad."
I sympathize with Lucifer having depression, but unfortunately, mental illness doesn't just effect you, it also effects the people around you, and i can't fault Charlie for her feelings too.
Because at the end of the day, Lucifer is Charlie's father.
Charlie is his child.
And as a parent, he has responsibilities. Ones that he failed to meet, which would have an effect on Charlie as children are meant to rely on their parents.
It's very telling that Charlie calls Lilith (who's been MIA for 7 years) more than she calls Lucifer (who's probably just a few Circles away). And no, I don't think this is because Lilith kept them separated and all that bullshit. I think Lucifer 100% had a hand in his and Charlie's estranged relationship and I hate it when he's passed off as nothing but a victim in all of it.
I hate it when he's boiled down to sad depressed man who's done nothing wrong. He has done plenty wrong.
And that's okay.
Because that's what makes his character good. He is multi-faceted. He is flawed. You can be depressed and still treat the people around you bad. I don't think Lucifer ever meant to be an absent parent, he obviously loves Charlie with all his heart, but that doesn't mean Charlie wasn't affected by his actions.
She very obviously was. Charlie is one of the most positive people in the show (to an extent that it becomes one of her flaws too), but the minute she called Lucifer it was a complete flip of how we normally see her. She was immediately annoyed. Her patience was already wire-thin. She was close to snapping so many times.
And I can see why. He only calls when he's bored/wants/needs something. He forgot about where she was and what she was doing despite her already telling him. He told her that he'd do anything to help her, and then said "no" the minute she asked.
Also, let's not forget how he answered the phone in the first place.
"Heeey, bitch!"
And look, it was funny. I laughed too. I still think it's funny.
But, imagine you called your dad for the first time in years (a dad you have a very strained relationship with) and the first thing you hear is a peppy, "Heeeeey, bitch!"
Like??? I can't blame Charlie for being annoyed as all hell, okay? I get the sense that she's been putting up with this bullshit for a VERY long time ad she's lost all patience for it. She's done. She's sick of it. She's been disappointed one too many times.
Also, yes, it's not just that Lucifer has been an absent father but he's been a neglectful ruler too. I wouldn't be surprised if Pentagram City has as much respect for him as they do for Charlie. I mean
HE SIGNED OFF ON THE EXTERMINATIONS
Lucifer gave the go-ahead for a yearly genocide of the people he rules over. Can we get some repercussions for that? Do you know how many people lost their friends? Family? Lovers? Vaggie literally spared a child--a CHILD. And I doubt that was the first kid ever confronted by an Exorcist.
Imagine that Cherri died during an Extermination and here we have Angel Dust meeting the person who stepped aside and let it happen. Do you think he wouldn't be mad?
Imagine Carmilla did lose her daughters during that Extermination. Do you really think she'd meet Lucifer and feel nothing but anger and contempt?
Personally, I think Lucifer agreeing to the Exterminations is what fractured his and Charlie's relationship. Like, fully fractured it. That was the last nail in the coffin.
And honestly, I WANT Lucifer to see the consequences of the Exterminations. I want him to have repercussions because that was an INCREDIBLY SHITTY THING TO DO. I imagine he didn't think there was any other option, but we also know that he didn't hold the sinners in high regard anyway. He had the lowest of low opinions of them. I doubt it took much convincing for him to agree.
Lucifer is the oldest being in the Pride Ring--he may be the oldest being in Hell. He's the most powerful person there. He is the embodiment of Pride. And he ACTS LIKE IT IN THE SHOW.
He has acted that way towards Charlie too. He didn't go to her hotel with an open mind. He wasn't actually listening to her plan or taking it into consideration. He played stupid when she asked him what he thought about it. And when the hotel was under attack, instead of stopping it (which he could easily done with a snap of his fingers), he was smirking and acting self-satisfied as he gloated about being "right" about Sinners.
And if you think I'm exaggerating then go rewatch that entire scene.
Look at him
He is acting so smug and he is rubbing it in Charlie's face.
LOOK AT CHARLIE! She is in distress. She is angry. And she is hurting. Her hotel is falling to pieces around her, her friends are in danger, and the whole time she had her dad gloating in her ear about why her dream is, essentially, a waste of time.
And the only thing that snapped him out of it was Charlie asking why Alastor (the one actually protecting the hotel) has more faith in her than her own father. It took Charlie bringing up Alastor again for Lucifer to knock his shit off.
Look at how hurt and closed off Charlie is in the last screenshot. I can't imagine that this is the first time Lucifer has acted towards her in this way. Do I think Lucifer meant to hurt Charlie?
No.
But did he?
Hell-to-the-fucking-YES!
Lucifer is an asshole. He acted like an asshole towards Alastor. He's acted like an asshole towards Charlie. And he kind of acted like an asshole towards the rest of the Hazbin crew considering he didn't exchange a single line of dialogue with them. They introduced themselves to him and that was it. Lucifer spent the rest of the time dissing on Alastor and talking exclusively to Charlie and Vaggie.
Lucifer suffers from depression, yes, but that doesn't take away that he is as much of an asshole as any other character in the show. And I hate that being stripped away and getting turned into this sad, babied little man who's awkward and shy and everyone else is just being mean to him. It's so dull and it's such a disservice to his character.
I don't want sweet, shy little UwU Lucifer that needs to be coddled.
I want mean, condescending, ass-hole Lucifer who reaps the consequences of his actions and grows from them.
#can you guys tell im salty?#I'm a little salty#I didn't mean to get so bitter in this haha#but babied Lucifer really does bother me#its so annoying#and its such a disservice to his character#he is the embodiment of Pride#let him act like it#having depression doesn't stop someone from acting like an asshole#this isn't to take away from his depression either#depression is a real and valid thing#and his actions based on his depression makes sense#however#his actions STILL hurt Charlie#and Charlie is valid in her feelings too#lets stop brushing off how she feels#Lucifer wasn't the only one hurt#Charlie was hurting SO FUCKING MUCH#give her the credit she deserves#give her the empathy she deserves#I feel more sorry for her than I do for Lucifer if we're being honest#character analysis#hazbin hotel#lucifer morningstar#hazbin hotel lucifer#anonymous#hazbin lucifer#lucifer hazbin hotel#charlie morningstar#charlie hazbin hotel
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As evidenced by many a comment and post, yes, they do. At the very least when it comes to Elain Archeron.
And it’s largely, from what I have seen, women saying these things while still uplifting characters such as Feyre, Nesta, etc. Why has the major girlbossification of female characters been taken so far we have now circled back and missed the point of feminism? It is good to be more traditionally feminine, or to go slay enemies (if you’re in a fantasy novel anyways), or to be some wonderful combination of those sorts of traits. One is not “good” while the other is “useless.”
Elain is similar in many ways to Elide and Yrene, from the Throne of Glass series. But they are each individual presences, their own person. I also cannot accurately describe Elide or Yrene to be “popular” in the ToG fandom; it is rare indeed that I find someone whose favorite character is one of these ladies (I personally adore them). And one cannot properly compare their story arcs to then say that people don’t hate the two women from ToG because they’re perhaps more traditionally feminine (which in many ways I might argue against, if you’re comparing simply their more “feminine” traits)—and so readers don’t hate Elain for this reason. In fact, the hate for Elain seems to come from a lack of reason.
The very fact that, despite their similarities, Elide and Yrene are loved while Elain is not would indicate just how this hatred lacks reason and is indeed based on a superficial judgement of character based solely on Elain’s more traditionally feminine traits.
Elain has a presence. An absolutely essential one. And her story is not complete, meaning she will grow and surprise us in beautiful ways.
Good. I don’t want Elain to be perfect. She isn’t perfect. Aside from “plot devices” that aid good storytelling, a perfect character is not worth reading about. No human is perfect—so why should we be interested in the life of a perfect fictional character? Find a character, in book or other media, that’s perfect. I’ll wait.
Elain can be gentle, kind, and a dreamer while still being a beautifully flawed character. That is what makes a good story. A good character who readers can get behind, but who also messes up, has flaws, and finds or creates ways to overcome those very flaws.
I don’t buy this for even a second. Assuming that sweetness/gentleness and flaws can’t both contribute to what makes a character who they are is quite simply incorrect. You maybe don’t “buy the nice persona” of someone like Amarantha, when she tricked Prythian. That logic simply does not apply to Elain. She is kind, gentle, a dreamer. And flawed, too. Every character is layered. The whole of the rest of the inner circle. As Elain is, too.
Elain is disliked because readers choose to look past and away from her gentle, nurturing qualities, instead labelling her as “useless,” “boring,” and “personality-proof.” All that tells me is that you did not read the books, not truly. You took one cursory glance at her, missing every moment of her trauma, every part of what makes her who she is.
Nesta’s flaws are louder—darker, perhaps. This, too, drew hatred from readers. I never hated her, just as I never hated Elain. I saw a deeply wounded and traumatized character, who dealt with that in different ways than her sisters did—because her flaws are not the same as theirs, because she possesses different strengths and good qualities than her sisters. Nesta’s journey of healing was beautiful. As Feyre’s was. As Elain’s has begun and will continue to be.
To not identify with a character is perfectly acceptable. To dismiss and discard someone simply because one hates her kindness says many things about the reader who does this, about the ideas society has cultivated.
Elain is a beautiful character. To dismiss her is to dismiss every reader who identifies with her gentle soul. 🌸
#theseersterhood#elain archeron#pro elain#elain acotar#elriel#pro elriel#azriel x elain#elain x azriel#elriel endgame#elriel supremacy
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The random chill questions for the modern jjk au are so much fun! I read that you do it just to ease back into writing, but it actually adds so much depth to the characters. It’s so cool thank you for that.
My question for them is where they’ll go for vacation? And like how they spend their vacation time? Arguing nonstop? Sex all day long? Going from one attraction to another?
yuhhh, because the smaus don't cover every conversation they have but rather stand as snapshots which represent the kind of convos they have and I only write three or four in between fics, there's bound to be a limitation on how much depth the audience gains on the characters so the questions can be important
gojo and reader:
they go sightseeing at night. they like to venture around Europe because reader likes the gothic architecture still standing. and whilst she doesn't hate the sun or anything stereotypical, she does hate being stared at. and that's fine by gojo, cause they do spend the whole day sleeping in, ordering room service, sex, more sleeping and then it's party all night
geto and reader:
they do road trips. either quick ones at night on the motorbike or long hauls in a luxury trailer. they go camping. they both like the privacy and connecting with nature and fresh air and shit. they'll go into the local village or town, attend farmer's markets, paint by a lake, sex under the moonlight.
choso and reader:
they go everywhere. they love adventuring and hiking. it's a mix of city life, going to art galleries and museums, and also going up mountains, trekking into rainforests and safaris etc. they both like learning about new cultures and seeing all the different artistic styles and architectures, getting inspired. they rough it up, backpacking cause that's how reader rolls
toji and reader:
they're both living humbly on a coach's and writer's salary so they travel once or twice a year. they go to major cities during the winter, mostly on invitation from their friends like sukuna and gojo. and during summer, they go to places like the Canary Islands and just laze around on the beach. they don't do much exploring cause toji only cares about getting some vitamin d, swimming and sex. and reader is way too tired and too sweaty to care about anything else.
nanami and reader:
they travel 3-4 times a year. reader's family is wealthy so she's used to skiing and staying in 5 star hotels and resorts. that very much continues well into adulthood since they go on family trips often. but with just the two of them, nanami likes to go to old cities like London and Paris for the architecture, the museums, the bookstores etc. nanami drags reader around and she dislikes it but she does like seeing him happy and excited. it's not about sex in those moments, it's about connecting. but when it's her turn to choose, she takes him to the Maldives and the Bahamas where they just have lots and lots of sex.
sukuna and reader:
private islands only. they don't like people. you know that honeymoon montage in twilight, it's that minus the supernatural powers. it's just a lot of exploring and hiking, of swimming in rivers and at sea, playing chess with the sunset as their backdrop. a lot of outdoor sex. crazy. and despite not possessing vampiric strength, somehow their bed always ends up like in twilight.
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Dirty Minds 1
Warnings: non/dubcon and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.
My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.
Character: Thor Odinson, Loki Laufeyson
Summary: You start a new job after being fired as a programmer and it's more than you could have anticipated. (maid AU)
Note: I should stop.
As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️
“Yeah, mom, I got the job,” you huff. “On my way right now. You really think Auntie would say no?”
“I know my sister,” your mother harrumphs from the other end. “She doesn’t do favours.”
“I mean, couldn’t she just give me some money instead of making me scrub floors,” you joke to the deathly silent speaker. “Alright, cool, well, guess I should go. I’m here.”
“Good luck,” your mom sighs. “Please don’t mess this up. Your father and I already postponed our vacation once.”
“I won’t,” you croak, deflated by the reminder. “Love ya.”
She hangs up without returning the sentiment. Yep, she’s still mad about that. You didn’t ask to be fired. Actually, you worked overtime and bent over backwards just to avoid the fate. It happened anyways. Every company in the state culled their numbers. Looks like your programming degree is now as coveted as English Lit.
You look up at the Upper East Side townhouse and suck your teeth. It’s just another reminder of everything you don’t have. Of everything you lost. Your order-in pad thai and sushi have given way to peanut butter on stale bread and canned soups. You can go without, it just stinks.
This should help. Aunt Jan says the job pays well if you do a good job. The more clients you can pick up, the better. For now, you’re starting out with one. Probation, she calls it. Even if your mom hates her sister, they’re more alike than she cares to admit.
You grunt as you swing the bucket of cleaning supplies with your steps up the concrete steps. The compact vacuum strapped to your back doesn’t aid in your struggle to maintain your balance. You couldn’t afford the rental fee for the company car so you schlupped everything here on the subway. Not ideal.
You put the kit down and tap the buzzer, struggling to catch your breath. There’s no answer. Jan said that might happen. Try again and if there’s no answer, let yourself in.
It’s not that complex, is it? You got through coding and calculus. You can figure out all those attachments for the vacuum. You hit the button again.
“Ah, welcome lady maid, you’ve come at last,” the booming lilted voice crackles from the speaker. You flinch. There’s a lens there too. You try to smile.
“Uh, hi,” you reply. “I was sent by the Agency.”
“Yes, yes, as Stark recommended. Please, come in. Ehhhh, which button....”
The door clicks and beeps as it unlocks. Wonderful. The blind leading the blind. That might be better. You definitely don’t need a stickler pointing out the streaks on the windows.
You push the door open and heave the bucket over the threshold. You take off your shoes and unhook the vacuum from your back. Should you start with the instructions in the app or go find your new boss?
You wander further in, sheepish as you look around the interior. There’s red satin strewn over the back of the French-style sofa and clunky boots beside it. And there’s a few takeout containers piled across from the large television. Oh, right, it definitely is a man.
“Lady maid? Is that you?” The voice calls through the doorway to your right.
You slowly follow it as you hear clinking from within. You peek into the kitchen and cry out at the scene. You don’t mean to stare at the naked ass but it’s the first thing that you see. The large man, with blond hair spilling past his shoulders, is nonchalant as he loads the coffee maker. Entirely naked!
“Uhhhhh.” Your voice unfurls dumbly and you bring your hand up to block your view. “Um. You—you're...”
“Oh my, yes, I do forget myself,” he chortles and searches around. He grabs an apron and ties it around his waist. “In Asgard, the natural form is not stigmatized. Rather, we do much unfettered. Cook, clean, wrestle.”
You reluctantly drop your hand as you’re face by the man and his immense chest. He’s huge. And familiar. He isn’t a man at all. He’s...
“Thor?” You utter dumbly.
“You know me? Did I perhaps save your cat?” He asks.
“No, I saw you... on TV.”
“Oh yes, how amusing. It was I!” He grins triumphantly. “They don’t always tell me when there are cameras.”
“Hm,” you nod awkwardly. “I... should I just start.”
“Ah, diligent maid, how admirable. To work so earnestly,” he praises and turns to grab his cup as the machine quits grinding. His ass is still out as the apron only conceals his front. You’re not going to get hung up on it. He’s probably hung too.
Wow. Wow. Keep your head above board.
“I’ll start out there,” you point over your shoulder.
“Whatever you like, lady maid.”
You retreat and try not to picture his muscular ass or statuesque shoulders or bright blue eyes. It must be a godly trick. You’re not one of those fan girls. You’re not pathetic like that.
You start in the living room. You open a bin bag and start to gather the containers. A fan of burritos, you see. You make your way around the surfaces. You should be methodic. Clutter first, then floors.
You continue back into the entryway and organize the shoe rack. You hang the cloak left on the sofa and take the boots over to the mat. There’s several cloaks and many shoes and boots. The green satin holds your curiosity. You didn’t think that was his colour.
You carry on through each room, avoiding the kitchen as long as you can. You go into the bathroom, bracing yourself. You wipe off an errant glop of toothpaste and some darker hair strands near the drain. Those are black, not blond.
A groan tickles your ear and you glance over as a shadow steps into the doorway. The lithe figure stretches his arms above him as he tilts his head back, arching so his chest puffs out and his... bits dangle freely. You squeal and cover your eyes.
“Oh god!” You cry out.
“So I am,” the other Asgardian sweeps in without bother, brushing by you as he approaches the toilet.
“Uhhhh, oh, oh,” you squeak as he flips up the lid. “Jeez!”
You hurry out of the bathroom and swing the door shut behind you as his stream hits the water loudly. You stand on the other side, breathless in shock. That was him. Loki!
You don’t know what’s more off putting. The shameless nudity or that you’ve been assigned to clean up after two gods. Not just gods, avengers. Well, at least Thor.
It doesn’t matter. You’re here to clean, so keep your eyes and your brain under control. You don’t need Aunt Jan getting a complaint, even if this is the last job you wanted.
#thor#dark thor#dark!thor#dark loki#dark!loki#loki#loki x reader#thor x reader#series#drabble#dirty minds#maid au#avengers#marvel#mcu
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GL odds and ends 29 December 2024
The end of the year kicked my ass, but I wanted to get one last one of these out for 2024! The last one before this was 10 November. If you're interested in GL older than that, check out my GL rec list through Feb 2024 and my #gl recs tag for the other odds and ends posts. New series marked with an asterisk*.
Currently airing (with thoughts up to 29 Dec):
The Fragrance You inherit 5/8 (Japanese, Friday/Saturday-ish, no official distribution but fansub on @isaksbestpillow's blog [thank you Siiri!] I have been really enjoying this show and have been writing when I have time (last post was for ep4). At its core this is a gentle show about kind people who love each other doing their best, which is always my favourite thing. Subs are on pause for the moment so you have time to catch up before the finale!
Pluto ep 11/12 (Thai, Saturdays 9:30 AM ET, YouTube) This plot continues to be absolutely wild. There's a lot of discourse around Oom this week, to which I'll just say: Setting a test to see if the people you love will hurt themselves in order to make you feel better is not loving or healthy behaviour, even if your motivations are understandable and sympathetic. Namtan is doing a great job making these twins feel like different people, and she and Film are still gorgeous together. And I have no idea what's up with the messy lesbian sides, but I'm on the side of all of them need a time out! I've been pretty dialed out of this show because it's not my thing, so I'm not that invested in any of the relationships going into the finale, but it's been a wild ride and it seems to be holding together for those who enjoy the high drama of this plot.
*Petrichor ep 5/10 (Thai, Saturdays, 10:00 AM ET, iQIYI) The procedural aspects of this show are unfortunately not well executed, but Engfa and Charlotte have fantastic chemistry. I'm also really loving seeing Na and Max again even though I am very worried about getting too attached to their characters. It's always hard for me when a show is about a police officer trying to do good work in a corrupt system because the only takeaway I can accept is that that is not possible lol but I'm enjoying seeing these two on my screen every week (except this week, because we sadly did not get a new episode today).
*Mate, 6/12 (Thai, Tuesdays, WeTV (uncut version)) This one is hard to describe. It seems to be trying to do for trauma in a GL what Love in the Air and Bed Friend did in BL--show a realistic depiction of trauma in one of their characters and have them fall in love, and be taken care of and healed that way. But that also makes it extremely hard to watch. The trauma flashbacks and trauma responses is rough. The main character is not very likeable but that's kinda the point, I'm not minding that part of it so much. There are a lot of things I like about this show, so I don't want to discourage views. Just go into this one informed, and make the decision that's right for you.
*INTP 1/? (Korean, Fridays (?), YouTube) This is the latest short series from RedQ, who produced some of my favourite GL short series including More than or equal to 75 degrees C, and To the Ex who Hated Me. No info on how long it will be or if it will be weekly, so that Fridays release schedule is a total guess. The setup of this one reminded me of Semantic Error if SangWoo realized he was attracted to JaeYoung at their first group assignment meeting.
Recently Completed:
Apple My Love 6.5 50-min eps (Thai, Oct 12-Nov 16, GagaOOLala and YouTube) I ended up feeling like this one bit off a bit more than it could chew, as much fun as I had with it, it was a wobbly landing. I was ok with the ending at the end but I spent a lot of time watching the finale uncertain about how I felt about all of it. There's a 30 min "episode 5.1" that is an important bridge between episodes 5 and 6 (and also includes a 10-min fingering scene, thank you show) that I think resulted from either poor pacing or realizing they needed to set up the episode better? It was odd but something to make sure not to skip. The show does a lot of what I love about Kongthup's latest BLs: it avoids the worst drama pitfalls and calls them out in the show itself when it uses them, and it is largely about being kind to its characters who are figuring themselves out. Warning for extremely hard to watch secondhand embarrassment in the first couple of episodes lol Kris is such a cringefail lesbian I love her. With the caveats above, if you don't mind secondhand embarrassment and want a comedy GL and are willing to be a little patient with the ending, give this one a try!
The Loyal Pin 16 65-min eps (Thai, Aug 4-Dec 1, YouTube) Anin was the bravest right through to the end. I really liked a lot of this show, but I found the pacing a bit uneven and the finale a little rough. It's hard, because I actually am happy with the way the show ended--it makes perfect sense and was where I was hoping they would get to the entire show. What I didn't like was how we got there. It seemed wild that Pin and Anin didn't at least talk about this possibility before we got there; and didn't feel like we ever resolved the disparity between the two leads, though the show was aware of it the whole time which I did like. And you may have seen the shouting about the prank in the finale, it was in really poor taste. In the end, this show was beautiful, gave a platform for promoting Thai culture (food, clothing, history), and had excellent intimacy. I really enjoyed the slow burn between Anin and Pin, and I loved that every character had and used the agency they had, but that the show was realistic about what was in and outside of their control. If you want a slow-burn and high-heat romance and are willing to be a little frustrated for the sake of the drama, and/or you really like a pigtail-pulling romantic dynamic, you should watch this show.
Red Whisper 8 10-min eps (Korea, Oct 2-Nov 11, YouTube) Honestly this show never got better after what I wrote about it a month ago about how its portrayal of bisexuality and nonmonogamy was upsetting. For the record one last time: Not all bisexuals are nonmonogamous, and entering a monogamous relationship under false pretenses and then acting like your partner is being unreasonable by not wanting an open relationship is shitty behaviour. This one is sadly not recommended.
The Nipple Talk 10 30-min eps (Taiwanese, Nov 8-22, GagaOOLala) I highly recommended the first half, and so I am so sad to say that I can't say the same for the second half of the show. I was really enjoying how much the show seemed to support a mix of monogamy and nonmonogamy, but the second half of the show leaned heavily into 'everyone wants a monogamous relationship when they meet the right person', which disappointed me. The show also tried to introduce some themes that felt very dated in terms of how they handled them (e.g. HIV) and I ended up just not really liking the Pony character as a person by the end. The lesbian relationship was super messy in a way that I did not find fun too. Mama was the best part of this show, and I hope we get more characters like them in future (better) shows!
*Soul Sisters 24 12-min eps (Chinese, iQIYI) This entire show dropped this week so I binged it in one go. The basic setup is a GL version of Meet You At the Blossom, except the gender fuckery lasts for most of the series and they don't actually ever get to kiss. I loved this little show; it is a frenetic, very silly and censored comedy, so calibrate your expectations accordingly. But it walks the line in a way that is palatable (or was for me, anyway). Without giving too much away, it is an open happy ending. The caveats for this one are that there is no wasted tape, so the pacing is rollercoaster fast, and the cuts are sometimes jarring. But it's a surprisingly beautiful show for the budget, and I really appreciated all of the ways they came up with to give these women shippy moments. Also, good lord this main character is so competent, which is a major weakness of mine. I had a great time!
*Whisper Me a Love Song 12 25-min eps (Japanese anime, Apr-27 Dec, HiDive) This started airing in April but there was a delay and the last episode didn't air until yesterday. High school lesbians in a band having embarrassing confused and misunderstood feelings all over the place (with good endings including a kiss for at least one of our couples). I appreciate that this anime is not playing with the 'are they friends who joke about wanting to touch each other's boobs or are they more' line, they outright say they want to be more than friends and then kiss. The music is good too! Recommended if you are feeling like a high school dramedy with good tunes that stays pretty light and is in the 'bubble'.
Recent One-offs, Side Couples, etc.:
My Hot Butch Roommate (actually a 2-parter) aired on bilibili 1, 2) and was subtitled by @douqi7s on YouTube (1, 2) These two are very cute, and this little short does a ton with the very tiny 5 minutes of total runtime it uses. Give the original bilibili uploads a stream so they get views, even if you watch the YT subbed version!
Fufuknows put out a new lesbian short titled The Choices of Two Lesbian Couples in Love on YouTube This was a great short (11 min) film featuring the story of two couples at different stages in their relationship, and the different choices they make about their futures. I really enjoy Fufuknows as queer short filmmakers, and I appreciate that they regularly include lesbian and wlw content in their bi-weekly (as in, every other week) fictional shorts that they produce and release. This one is recommended!
Aim's Lesbian plotline in the new Love Sick 2024 remake concluded (this was not a plotline in the 2014 version and it's one of the changes I really like and that I think works really well) Spoiler: she doesn't get a romance happy ending but her story ends with acceptance from her friends about who she is, which was lovely to watch
There was a brief of-the-week lesbian couple who wanted to marry in Spare Me Your Mercy Spoiler: their story is tragic, which is par for the course in a murder mystery
I am suspecting wlw sides in See Your Love I may end up eating these words but I was getting vibes, and so I'm putting this out in the universe now in hopes I'm right lol
There is a new Korean shorts production company on YouTube called Lovememory (Their first BL ep is out and the GL, First Love, has a trailer)
Mom Ped Sawan started airing but I don't have a source so I can't give any info or links unfortunately. If anyone knows of a subtitled source for this show, please let me know!
My Ex's Wedding came out in Thai theatres waiting for an international source for this too
Korean short film What's In my Bag was uploaded to Matchbox I haven't seen it yet but the trailer is on YouTube if anyone is curious! The film is available now for a small fee on Vimeo (runtime 12 mins).
Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out
Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so; that being said I haven't had time recently so if I've missed anything good let me know!
Starting soon:
Us the series, Thai, 18 January 2025, most likely YouTube (as this is a GMMTV show) Caveat that this date is a rumour, see comments
Fragrance of the First Flower s2, Taiwanese, 18 February 2025, GagaOOLala ok this isn't that soon but I'm just so excited we're getting this second season after all!
It is so, so nice that we have this much GL to keep track of, I can't complain! This covers a whole month of content and it was a month I was very distracted from my QL consumption so while I always welcome anyone pointing out stuff I missed, I would particularly appreciate it this round.
#gl series#gl recs#gl meta#sapphic media#typed so that i can stop thinking it#kimi no tsugu kaori wa#the fragrance you inherit#pluto the series#intp the series#petrichor the series#mate the series#apple my love#the loyal pin#red whisper#the nipple talk#whisper me a love song#soul sisters the series#my hot butch roommate
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Uncoupled - November
Roommate! Joel Miller / Reader
Two people leaving their marriages ended up going through the mandatory one year separation together before filing for divorce.
Nothing could possibly happen in a year, right?
WARNINGS: Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel Bonding (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Protective Joel (The Last of Us), No age gap, Roommate Joel, Teacher Joel, Handyman Joel, Insecure Joel, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning.
SERIES MASTER LIST
October Part 2
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‘You went and got yourself a family?’
‘It’s only been four months.’
‘We’re not even divorced yet, Joel’
‘What the fuck were you thinking?’
‘How could you do this to me? To us?’
You saw his laugh-filled face turn. “Everything okay?”
He showed you his phone, annoyance all over his previously happy face. Get your phone, he said.
You went into your bedroom where your phone was charging. It was dangerously low on battery, having taken pictures and videos of Ellie all night long. You unlocked it, seeing the torrent of messages from Max. “Joel,” you called. He immediately came over. You sat on your bed, him next to you, looking at the texts together.
They’re basically the same texts. The two pictures, and one-sentenced questions and insults thrown your way, questioning how you could move on so quickly, and of all the people in this world, why did it have to be Joel? What did Joel have that he didn’t? Why would you play happy family with Joel and not him?
You just felt tired. You dropped onto your back, laying in your bed staring at the ceiling. Joel laid on his belly next to you, fingers nudging your elbow, asking you what you were thinking about.
“Don’t you find it odd? They didn’t want us. I firmly believe Max hated me. No sane person would treat someone they loved the way Max treated me. We made things easy for them. We left. They’re free to be together. I don’t even check on him anymore. I don’t care, I genuinely don’t care what happens to him anymore. And yet, a couple of innocent pictures like that came out, and they flip out, cry victim. Why are we doing this to them? Us? We are the bad people now?”
He sighed, playing with a loose strand of thread on your t-shirt. “I have a feeling she will show up soon. Either at school or somewhere she knows I might be at. I know you don’t want to know what’s going on with Max, but Jen moved in with him. Tommy told me. She called one of the contractors he worked with for a quote. She wanted to redo his house.”
You scoffed. “Good luck with that, Jen. Max hates change. Flowers on the table needed to be of a specific type on specific days. Bathrooms needed to be cleaned a certain way. Everything needed to be just so. You have no idea how liberating it was to just wake up in the morning and leave and not worry about changing the sheets first. Can you imagine what he would have said if I even suggested we knock a fucking wall down?”
Joel didn’t say anything. He just stared at you, his chin in the crook of his elbows.
“Then again,” you sighed, “Maybe he loves her enough to not make her do all that. Maybe he loves her enough to let her knock the whole fucking house down and rebuild from scratch. Maybe he made me do all those things to force himself to love me. Maybe I’m so ugly to him, so unlovable, he needed the house to be fucking perfect to even stand to look at me. Jen’s gorgeous, so maybe he didn’t need her to do all that cause unlike with me, he can stand to look at her, maybe he is actually in love with her.”
You didn’t know where that came from, but your tears came pouring out, and you turned away from Joel to face the pillows, covered your face with one and just sobbed. You felt him hug you from behind.
“You are not unlovable. You are beautiful, inside and out. I can tell you right now, you are so much more beautiful than Jen will ever be, and Max is an idiot for treating you like that.”
You turned in his arms, looking up at him, your face splotchy with snot and tears. “You really think so?” you asked, your chest heaving from your sobs.
“Of course, you are perfect. Any man worth his salt would be lucky to have you. And Max is not worth a grain,” he wiped the snot and tears off your face with his bare hand, kissing the top of your head.
As touched as you were by his coaxing, your face just contorted into an ugly sob again, and you buried your face in his chest, sobbing again. “Thank you Joel, I’m so lucky I have you in my life. You’re a Godsend. The best friend anyone could ever hope for.”
He rubbed your back, telling you everything will be okay. He continued doing so until you calmed down, which was a lot easier, you found, with his arms surrounding you. His body was warm, his voice and touches soothing, his scent calming.
“Jen is an idiot of gigantic proportions for ever treating you the way she did. If I had someone like you for a husband, I would never let you go. You’re so nice, Joel. You will make some very lucky lady very happy one day, and I just know that she would be a hundred times more of a woman than Jen would ever be, cause that’s what you deserve. A good, beautiful woman with the heart of gold. Cause you are a good, beautiful man with a heart of gold yourself, and you deserved someone who will love you for who you are and appreciate everything you have to offer.”
He smiled at you, mouthing thank you, hugging you one more time.
He left your room when you fell asleep, making sure there was a pillow under your head and covering you with a blanket. He laid on his too small princess bed as he always did, thinking about what you said to him.
He’s a good man. He deserved someone good. Someone who appreciated him.
You also called him ‘the best friend anyone could ever hope for’.
He had been telling himself all the fantasies he had of being a family with you and Ellie was a projection of his fantasy, one that happened simply because he was finally living in a place where he was welcomed, liked, and appreciated, unlike his marital home. He didn’t really have any feelings for you, he was in fantasy land.
But now he knew it didn’t matter if the feelings he may or may not have for you was real.
You didn’t feel the same way.
But he’s telling himself he didn’t mind. He’ll keep telling himself that. He wanted you and Ellie in his life, so he will be your best friend forever, because that’s clearly what you needed from him. He’ll give it to you, even if you found someone, even if it hurt.
He’ll take whatever form of you he could get.
**********
You were just leaving the bakery to pick Ellie up from school when the front door jingled. Must be Frank’s 3.00pm appointment, you thought. You quickly tidied up the table a bit, refilled and turned on the diffuser for the clients, and grabbed your coat from the hook. Frank came in, looking a bit hesitant, telling you the clients wanted to see you instead of him.
“Why? You’re the cake master. I just bake them, you decorate them.”
“It’s Jen and Max.”
Fuck. Me.
“There’s something else.”
“What now?”
“The appointment…” he sighed, “It’s for an engagement cake.”
You rolled your eyes. “Send them in in 2 minutes.”
You called Joel. “I need your help,” you told him. “Can you pick up Ellie and bring her here? Straight into my office. And don’t react negatively. You’ll see why.”
The awesome man that he was, he just said okay and hung up. You hung your coat back up and waited in your office.
After your talk that Halloween night you and Joel made the decision to ignore the loving couple’s harassment of the two of you. Tell them nothing, say nothing, give them nothing. Responding would give them satisfaction. Giving them any form of answer would give them satisfaction. A peace of mind. Nope. They cheated on the two of you. They had their peace of mind then. This time, you two get to have the peace of mind. It’s your time. Not theirs. The world doesn’t revolve around what Jen and Max needed. Maybe sometimes, it should revolve around you and Joel.
Frank knocked twice and opened the door to your office. You stood up, a huge smile on your face.
“Hi Max,” you said, giving him a quick peck on his cheek, “Hi, I’m Lily, I think we met like what… five years ago? We were both newlyweds then, weren’t we?” You took Jen’s hand in yours, shaking it gently. You went back to your seat, offering them to take a seat in front of you.
They looked like they were caught off-guard. But they did sit down. You opened your sketch book and pushed the iPad towards them, pictures upon pictures of cakes of various designs and colours on them.
“Now, as I understand it, you’re interested in ordering a cake?”
Max cleared his throat, having been stunned into silence by your friendliness. “Yes, an engagement cake, actually.”
“Oh… for the two of you?”
Jen looked smug, lifting her left hand, a giant diamond adorning her ring finger.
“Oh, wow,” you cooed, “Congratulations! You must be very happy!”
They smiled, albeit a little uncomfortably, Jen offering her hand to Max, who didn’t notice, until you pointed it out. He reluctantly took it, kissing it once and looking back at you, a forced smile on his face.
“So,” you said, scrolling through the iPad, “Generally, engagement cakes are a bit simpler than wedding ones, but you have so many choices to choose from. Prices and prep time would differ according to size and design, obviously. When will you be needing the cake?”
Max looked at Jen, who sat up a bit straight and told you in seven days. You tapped on the iPad, put on your best thinking face and told them you might not have the time to complete an elaborate cake for them by then, but perhaps a simple one?
The two of them were really weirded out, you could tell. You clicked on a simple cake and showed them the picture, telling them you could probably get something like that ready in the time they needed it, or, at best… you swiped a few times and showed them another one, a little bit more elaborate but still a simple one, nonetheless.
Just then, the front door jingled, and Ellie’s shrill voice came calling. Her footsteps coming closer and closer, followed by a pair of heavier ones, telling her to slow down. The door to your office burst open, and Ellie came flying in, giving you a hug. Joel followed, carrying her jacket in his hand.
“Lily, sorry, she wouldn’t stop… oh, hi. What are you two doing here?” Joel came inside, walking over to you, bending down and giving you a quick peck on the cheek. “Hello,” he said to you.
You smiled sweetly at him. “They’re here to look at engagement cakes, they’re engaged!”
“Oh, really? Congratulations!” he offered a hand to Max, and went over to kiss Jen on the cheek, cooing at the gigantic rock she had on her finger. He came back round and unwrapped Ellie from you, asking you if it’s okay for him to maybe give her a sweet treat? You told him there are some caramel puddings out front, warning Ellie she could only have one! The little girl bargained for three, but Joel lifted her up by her middle and carried her out like a piece of board, reiterating one! She squealed with laughter as he closed the door behind him, giving you a wink as he did so.
“Sorry about that,” you told them. “So, what do we think? Simple cake enough?”
They just looked very uncomfortable, looking at each other, their faces so tightly wound you thought they might actually just start screaming at you. But Max just stood up and said they’ll have to think about it, telling Jen to get up and putting his coat back on.
“Well, let me know if you change your mind!” you chirped. Jen looked like she wanted to slap you in the face. But you just smiled ever so sweetly at her, congratulating her again. Max barked her name at her, and she turned and followed him out.
You went out with them, Joel helping Ellie open the pudding he had taken out of the fridge and handing her a spoon on one of the tables. The bakery was empty, save for a couple customers buying some pastries, the lunch rush long over, and the next rush won’t be happening until five. You sat down with them, handing Joel a bottle of water and Ellie a juice box, as Max and Jen left. You thanked them for coming, waving them goodbye. Joel tipped an imaginary hat at them, also with a smile on his face. Ellie, though, waited until they left and blew a raspberry at the door.
You could see from your periphery that they were still in front of the door, having a heated discussion with each other. You mumbled this information to Joel, who nodded and said he will keep on smiling, wiping some pudding off Ellie’s face before sticking the straw of the juice box into it.
Sure enough, within minutes, the door jingled again, the two of them coming back in, this time with an angry look on their faces. You straightaway asked Tess to take Ellie to your office, asking them what you could do for them, have they decided on what cake they wanted?
“Oh stop it, Lily. You can drop the act now.”
“What act, Max?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb,” Jen spat out. “We know you guys are just waiting to come crawling back to us.”
“Were we?” Joel asked you. You shrugged. That’s news to you.
Max took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair and sat down in front of you and Joel.
“I don’t get it. Why are you two leaving us?”
“Oh God, are we back here again?”
“Seriously. What happened? You were more than happy with our arrangement and then poof, you were gone. No explanation, just… packed up and left.”
“Max,” Joel started, lacing his own fingers together in front of him on the table, “Generally, people don’t like it when their spouses cheated on them, or treated them horribly.”
“But we didn’t cheat!” Jen defended. “We had an open relationship. You knew this. You agreed to it!”
“No… you two had an open relationship. We didn’t.” You were just fed up at this point. “And just so you know, we were never happy with the arrangement. And let’s not pretend that you were just starting a relationship after said arrangement. You’d been cheating on us for years!”
“What we don’t get is,” Joel said, “Why are you two so insistent on us going back to you? You hated us. Treated us like second class citizens in our own homes. Openly bragged about how much you loved each other. Now, you can finally be together, for real, heck, you are engaged now, you finally got someone who’s of your own class, Jen, why would you want a pauper like me back? Or what was it you called me? A cuck, yes, that was it.”
You blood boiled when you heard that. “She called you what?”
Joel raised his eyebrows at you. You snapped your head at Jen, and she took a step back as if you had just slapped her.
“You called him a cuck? Why? Because he was gentle with you? Because he didn’t beat the living shit out of you for treating him like trash?”
She didn’t say anything.
“Are you seriously defending him right now?” Max piped up.
“Maybe if you had defended her, if you had tried to treat her right, build her up instead of push her down, she wouldn’t have left.”
Max stared at Joel, seething, but knew he couldn’t say anything back to him.
“Look, just leave. You’re engaged, you’re happy, let us be happy. In eight months, this will all be over, and we don’t have to see each other anymore. You went through the last few years avoiding us at all costs, going so far as kicking us out of our bedrooms. So why beg us to stay now? Just live your lives, the ones you had always dreamed of. Leave us be.”
“Really, congratulations on your engagement, we are happy for you. But we left for a reason, we are not going back. We are happy now. We respect each other, treat each other right, so go, live your lives. Without us.” Joel really sounded tired right now.
Max stood up, shaking his head.
“No, we have eight months. We’re not giving up. We will get back together Lily. We were together for 15 years. You don’t just throw that away.”
“No, you threw that away, the moment you decided you were too good for me. I was too shabby for you. Too fat, too ugly, too domestic, nothing I ever did was good enough, so maybe I had enough and grew a spine, and now that I stood up for myself you didn’t like that? Well too bad.”
“You two just moved on, in four months you just moved on, got yourselves a family and moved on. Who does that?” Jen shook her head.
“Is that so weird? You two moved on while you were still married,” Joel reminded her.
“Exactly, we are still married, Joel, and you two went ahead and played happy family together. Gigi told me you pick up her child from school? You’re playing Daddy now?”
“So what if I am, Jen? Is the idea of me being so happy so bad for you? Let’s face it. The two of you don’t want us back because you love us, you want us back because there’s no one for you to bully anymore, to let your frustrations out on anymore, to be smug at anymore. You two deserve each other. And we sincerely wish you all the happiness in the world. Now, please leave, I need to get Ellie home.”
You stood up, Joel immediately pulling you to his side.
The two looked at each other, looked at you and Joel, and finally left.
Your hands were shaking. Joel pulled you into a hug, telling you they were gone, don’t worry, he won’t let them bother you anymore. You let him hold you, silently crying into his chest, letting him stroke your hair.
By the time you pulled yourself off him, you saw that his own eyes were red. Despite the emotions the two of you went through just then, you two felt completely calm now. You sat back down, your hands in each other’s, taking deep long breaths, nodding at each other, glad you each had the other for support at times like that.
No words were needed between the two of you. Both of you knew exactly what the other was feeling. Both of you going through the exact same turmoil inside.
Behind the swinging doors leading to the back of the bakery, Tess and Frank quietly watched the two of you calm each other down. They looked at each other, a plan hatching in their heads. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Synchronized nods were shared.
**********
“Hey, so this weekend? The long weekend? I was thinking – Andy and I are going to visit her folks at the ranch. Can we take Ellie with us? She would love it there. It’s so beautiful. Her folks have been dying to meet her. She would love all the horses and animals there.”
You and Joel looked at each other. He had brought up the idea to take Ellie to the zoo that weekend, but the idea of her being at a ranch sounded more interesting, and she would really love that rather than spend three days at home doing nothing else. But you didn’t know if you were ready to be separated from her for three whole days.
“Erm, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to impose…”
“You’re not,” Andy quickly countered. “My parents have been begging me to bring her. We don’t have kids, my brothers live so far away, and my sister’s kids are all too grown or too uninterested in the ranch, so… they’re really excited to have her over. Please?”
“You need to ask her…”
“Ellie, would you like to come with me and Andy to the ranch this weekend? We can play with horses! There are donkeys too!”
“Really? Please Beans? Please Joel? Can I go?”
Before you knew it, it was Thursday evening, and Ellie was waiting by the door with her small suitcase, excited to go play with horses and donkeys and alpacas at Andy’s parents’ ranch. You and Joel watched helplessly as Tess lugged the suitcase onto the bed of her truck, Andy strapping Ellie in the back seat. The little girl was practically vibrating with excitement, squirming away from the super tight hugs you and Joel gave her. You somehow managed to control your emotions until they drove out of sight before crying your eyes out, Joel soothing you, he himself holding back tears at the prospect of not seeing the little girl for three days.
Dinner was a quiet affair that night, ordering Chinese and eating in front of the TV, both of you just picking at your food, wondering what Ellie was doing at that very moment. Tess had officially banned you from calling anymore that night, telling you she will send pictures and you were allowed one Facetime a day. No more. Even Joel got yelled at when he tried to call instead – she said you were banned, not him. Turned out, that meant him too.
By 9pm, you couldn’t take it anymore. You told Joel you needed a distraction. He needed to entertain you for three days so you don’t spend them weeping over Ellie having fun at the ranch. Joel smiled, okay, what do you want to do?
You gave him a cheeky smile.
**********
When Sunday evening came, the two of you waited at the door as Tess drove up, arms around each other, telling Ellie you had some good news for her. Tess and Andy looked elated. “It worked!” Andy told Tess.
“Come on, we’ll tell you out back,” you said, as Joel lifted Ellie up and brought her inside. Tess and Andy quickly followed, Andy Facetiming Frank for the big reveal. “I think it worked! They said they had some good news to tell Ellie!” she told him. Frank squealed into the phone, calling for Bill to come join the Facetime. Tess already had Maria and Tommy on Facetime too, telling them to be quiet.
They went out back, phones out to record this historic moment for Maria, Tommy, Frank and a very grumpy Bill to see.
The backyard looked different. There were planter boxes along the fence, a firepit freshly dug and put in, and the old furniture had been spruced up and painted. And the big reveal, there was a swing set for Ellie, who screamed with joy, immediately squirming to get down from Joel’s arms, climbing on to the set to take her first ride, you pushing her gently from behind. Higher Beans, higher!
Tess walked up to Joel. This was what the two of you did for three days?
“Yeah, isn’t it great?��� Joel said, his phone out, recording the moment.
Tess went back to Andy and Facetime Frank, Maria and Tommy, all five of them looking like Christmas was cancelled. Only Bill seemed unphased.
“The fuck?” Tommy said, “Three days alone, don’t go out on a date or anything, go build a fucking backyard!”
“I know right? Who does that?”
“I told you,” Bill said. “Leave them be. It’ll happen.”
“Were we wrong? Do they not like each other like that?”
But looking at Joel’s face as he recorded you and Ellie, the six of them knew they were on the right track. And seeing the way you looked at Joel as you pushed Ellie on the swing, they knew they were definitely not wrong.
They just needed to try again, harder this time.
---
December Part 1
#joel miller x reader#the last of us fanfiction#joel miller#joel miller fanfiction#tlou fanfiction#joel miller x you#roommate Joel Miller
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Hey!! You've prolly seen me reblog a bunch of stuff but I'm still hung up on that one comic where Adachi says Goro's named after him and Ken's mom?? But goes by Goro?? I would love if u were to talk abt that more I'm so curious ozl
Yeah!! So his transition is kind of mentioned in this comic where Goro pretty much comes out to his mom, but I imagine the original naming process went like…
Miyu has no name ideas so she just goes for combining the names of two people she kinda cares about, but she hates the meaning of Tohru’s name so she changes the Tōru (transparent) to Toro (pure water).
Goro of course probably ends up coming from the literal namesake of his character, which is a detective character. I don’t think Miyu would neglect to mention that Tohru is a detective (post-grad), and perhaps Goro would become a little bit inspired to start reading detective fiction…….
((and for those unfamiliar w the Uncle Adachi AU, Chisako is Miyu and Tohru’s aunt as well as Ken Amada’s mom. But, she’s the same age as Miyu bc she was a late-in-life kid, so Miyu and Chisako grew up as sort of friendly rivals for the family attention.))
#uncle Adachi au#also TYSM FOR THE REBLOGS!!!!! happy you’re enjoying my au !! 🥺🥺💖💖!!#chisako and miyu are literally almost the same except chisako THOUGHT she had her life figured out and it was a very normal trajectory#then BAM#evil awful husband.#chisako divorce and poverty arc.#dies bc of child soldiers#Ken and Akechi would haaaaaate each other on god#but they’re so parallels#I love my dumb takeba family tree lmaooo#miyu akechi#goro akechi#chisako amada#tohru adachi#ask
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I know people have criticism in regards to the dcamu movies and of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They definetly aren't perfect and have their flaws (hell, even I hated the last one) and ofc people are subjective. However, as a Nightwing and Starfire fan, the writers had objectively so much respect for Kory as her own character and their relationship; a respect that hasn't been afforded to her by the comics in so long.
She is the leader of the Titans, she does her own thing and isn't relegated to Nightwing's girlfriend, her insecurities are adressed (when she tells Dick she's not even from their world), Dick supports her and her decisions, Damian likes her and approves of her as well. She is shown as a skilled fighter that Dick learns new things from. She is not erased from Dick's life at all - the movies consistently bring her up through phone calls if she isn't present. The writers could have had so easily make him into a womanizer that changes love interests every movie or hits on everyone around him, but they chose this very accurate path instead by having him be with her from beginning to end and showing how important she is to him (someone on twitter asked the writers if the two are still together in Batman Hush and the response was literally "Why wouldn't they be?"; not to mention the movie planned for their marriage). They were very faithful I think to their relationship, and obviously had a lot of affection for Kory as a character on her own. It's nice to see.
THIS THIS THIS!!!!
i love the animated movies. i genuinely don’t care about the reasons why people dislike them, everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but mine is that those movies are FANTASTIC. simply because they respect kory as a character not just a throw-away love interest.
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Everyone can have their own opinion on what is happening. Whether you believe Nic and Luke are together or with other people. None of us can say with certainty one or the other because nobody has given valid proof for either side. HOWEVER, what I will say is that Luke and Nic are absolutely obsessed with each other and this has been going on for a LONG time. I would say ever since filming S3, their relationship has totally evolved to a level where the lines are blurred and neither can describe the relationship that they have - besides saying how special and unique it is. They LOVE each other, as they have said multiple fucking times. When has Nic or Luke said they loved anyone else? Please, for the love of God, everyone drop this side character bullshit. WHO GIVES A FUCK??? People are desperate to prove a point but it will NEVER work. IF Luke and A are together then he doesn’t give a fuck all the hate she has received since June. He’s looking after himself, not her, and I don’t fucking blame him with how desperate some people are to be right. JD’s following count is booming because of his connection to Nic. This doesn’t seem to bother Nic at all, she is living her life. So, that’s what we know. Those are the facts of the situation. Ship and believe whatever tf you want, but don’t be a freaky, creepy weirdo like boo boo the fool and her nasty fucking minions who treat her like a god.
I stay in my lane.
When people try and cut me off guess who looks bothered?
Not me.
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Wind and Truth thoughts under the cut
Spoilers for the entire book.
-Oof. The ending. I will come back to that, but its first up because its overshadowing everything else like a giant storm cloud. - :( speaking of. Goddamn it, I liked the Stormfather.
-I want to note, right here, that I still do not trust Szeth to make a single good decision. I don't think he should be the law. I hope he goes back to sheep farming and has no power over anyone ever.
-Interestingly, I like Nale better after this book. He was just a terrifying figure before, but now he's interesting as a person too. (He's still scary)
-What The Fuck Was With Moash Getting Spiked? As a devoted Marsh fan, I am against spiking in general. I have no words about how much I do Not like Moash being crystal spiked.
(side note: I think I dislike Moash properly now. Yes, the guy has some points, but.... he continued even with his own emotions. Attacking bridge 4. That's.... thats too far for me. If he'd decided to fight anyone Except bridge 4 I could have dealt with that)
-Saw that Gav was being prepped to hate Dalinar. Was still as tricked as Navani.
-So. We meet Auxiliary and learn what the fuck with Sigzil. I still don't like the Sunlit Man as a book and it coloured how I viewed the Shattered Plains fight here. I do like Aux.
-I trust Ishar even less than Szeth, therapy or no
-I really enjoyed the flashbacks in the spiritual realm. I loved getting all the gaps filled in, finally. (Or most of them anyway.) Also it just felt like WoK in vibes in a way that I just really appreciated.
-Appreciated the trick with Venli on the Shattered Plains. Not... Hmm. Not sure it matters anymore though. We'll see.
-I particularly liked the Interludes here. I remember those took me a while to get used to back in WoK.
-Had seen enough theories to be unsurprised about Shallan's mother being Chana, but I doubt I'd have thought of it myself
-Formless wasn't there! I thought that was off, because Shallan never fully manifested her, but still didn't clock it. I do love that. There's always details in Sanderson's books that I just don't see coming.
-Jasnah's povs... I just didn't like them. Can't quite put my finger on why, but she shouldn't have played by Taravangian's rules in the first place. She lost, but I don't feel like she lost in the way she thinks she did. I hate her lack of flexible thinking and nuance from someone who is supposed to be a good scholar. I liked her better in WoK Prime. We'll see how her book is, years from now.
-Renarin and Rlain's pov's were another real highlight. I was worried about this one, because Branderson - bless his mormon socks - can be as hamhanded as Dalinar sometimes. But this was just very well handled in my opinion. In character, not forced, and remarkably relevant to the overall plot. Nice.
-I should have known as soon as Adolin wanted to see Dalinar again that he wouldn't. That was a major hint.
-Ah shit I should get to Dalinar.
-That could be its own post.
-Kaladin first then. I.... didn't want that for him. In any way. I could see it coming - because fuck knows it couldn't be Szeth and once these ideas are raised something has to happen. But still. Its not good for anyone and I can only hope its more temporary this time. Yes, he gets a bit of a break. No, he has no friends with him. Poor guy.
-All right. Dalinar.
-I have been angry at Dalinar since Oathbringer. I think he's a good character! But yikes. I mean all of the Blackthorn behaviour, not only Evi.
-I did not want him to be Honor.
(actually I don't think I want Anyone to pick up Shards)
-Hey, he's not Honor, though. Anymore.
-INSTEAD TARAVANGIAN IS!! HEY WHY IS THIS HAPPENING
-Cultivation can try to flee all she likes this is still her fault.
-Taravangian of all people.
-It was a Good Ending, its also terrifying for Roshar in the short term - but better in the long term! - and the cosmere in general
-Odium needed to be freed from Roshar, for all the reasons thrown at us readers with all the delicacy of a chull in a china shop in those last few chapters (read fond exasperation here, I Got It The First Few Times)(last few chapters of YatNP were similar)
-Retribution is a little More than just freeing Odium.
-That said; It could never be as simple as one side winning the contest and I'm glad it wasn't. That would've disappointed me.
-So no more Stormlight in the Stormlight Archives?? Well, we'll see.
-And Dalinar is gone. I am sorry for it. It was going to happen in some way or other (I'm not sure taking up a Shard counts as surviving)(I'm not sure being bound to serve Odium would count either). But... I am sorry for it. I'll miss him.
#Wind and Truth#Wind and Truth spoilers#Wind and Truth thoughts#WaT spoilers#please note that I've finally learnt how to spell Taravangian#it only took 5 books#stormlight archive spoilers#there are more thoughts but this is already long enough
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While I'm usually critical about Veilguard, and will probably continue to be critical, I want to switch gears for a bit and engage in some positivity. Because there are things in it I liked and I don't want to lose sight of them.
So this is a collection of random Veilguard positivity rambles about some things I genuinely liked:
The entire character of Davrin: Davrin and his confusion about sacrificing himself as was expected of him but surviving, Davrin and his complicated but constructive relationship with his heritage that informs everything about him. Davrin knowing what is and isn't a monster, and giving Isseya her name back. Davrin is just very Dragon Age to me. Also holy shit, hot.
Generally, most of the stuff that surrounds the Wardens - the Hossberg Wetlands, the siege of Weisshaupt, the wardens Ivo, those records about the first qunari Warden, the First Warden trying to take the sacrifice of killing Razikale upon himself, the fucked up fortress for hiding fucked up stuff, the surviving wardens saying fuck it post-Weisshaupt and turning the joining into a blight vaccine.
The flowers in Hossberg quest (or was it a hidden quest?). Loved that. Flowers starting to bloom on previously blighted land was a plot point in that DA fic I outlined in my head 10 years ago and never wrote.
While I'm on the subject of plants, Harding's greenhouse was just stunning. Went to just stare at it multiple times regardless of Harding having anything to say to me. And it's thematically resonant too.
Neve as a concept seems like a character designed specifically to appeal to me personally in every way possible. If I was a Dragon Age character I would want to marry Neve. In my actual playthrough Neve never quite stuck, but I wasn't playing myself, I was trying to play a character who fucking hates Tevinter. So I am actually considering doing a separate Neve appreciation playthrough, and I have never replayed a game just to get more of one particular character before. You are too alluring, Neve.
Taash is interestingly and realistically flawed. People like to critique their coming-out scene because Shathann wasn't even really rejecting them, rather trying to understand them through concepts familiar to her, but I like it as written. You get so used to your mother being relentlessly critical of you, you work up the courage to have this important conversation because you know that is the right thing to do, you come prepared to stand your ground, you've been imagining everything she will say and rehearsing what to say back, and when she's honestly trying to understand and reach out, you don't even really notice it and lash out anyway, because you expected this conversation to go badly. This is very human.
Also, I vibe with Taash a lot. I too am socially challenged, sometimes unintentionally rude, surrounded by things that are certifiably messed up, struggle with cultural shit, and think dragons are the best.
I honestly liked the hair. Especially those luscious curls on Teia. This might be the first game I played where hair wasn't some kind of a distracting eyesore. I kid you not it improved my immersion.
I don't actually remember if it was like this in previous games, but I am very glad they labeled the flirt/romance dialogue options in the most unambiguous way possible. I played Baldur's Gate 3 recently and the most seemingly innocuous dialogue options led to flirting all the time. I realize this may be a me problem (see above, socially challenged), but having the options labeled and never having to reload because I'm not trying to flirt with you dammit is very relaxing. Which reminds me.
I think, that despite all its flaws, and weird narrative decisions, and wild shifts in theme and tone, Veilguard still made a better attempt at saying meaningful things than everyone's game of the year 2023 Baldur's Gate 3 did (runs away and hides under a rock).
#dragon age veilguard#dragon age veilguard spoilers#veilguard spoilers#datv spoilers#veilguard positivity#i hope i'm tagging this right#why won't it let me use bullet points and have spaces between paragraphs for readability at the same time
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Baldur's Gate 3 rant below the cut! (I very much enjoy the game until the middle of act 3, so that's what this rant is about)
I play on explorer mode. So easy mode. I try to keep my gear upgraded. But I always hit a wall with the game, right around the time when you deal with Bhaal
The fights suddenly become overwhelmingly hard for me. ON EXPLORER MODE
My mom and I were just playing her game and we're on the House of Grief for Shadowheart. I completely wiped twice before I had to look at my mom and say, 'I will do this fight on my own and not waste anymore of your time. we'll pick back up once I'm through the fight'
And now she feels awful, because she could tell how frustrated I was with the fight and that I just couldn't get it done. And I'm left here sitting wondering how I must be the stupidest video game player not to be able to get through this fight
(But seriously. How are you supposed to survive when everyone is bone chilled and blind?)
I love the story and the characters, but the shear amount of frustration I have to go through to get to those wonderful moments is worth less and less these days
I think that's one of the reasons I don't talk about BG3 anymore. Because I have a policy of 'talk about what you love, and not what you hate.' Not that I hate the game, but when it's leaving me in tears because I'm so frustrated... Yeah. That's why this rant is behind a cut
I'll let it sit a few days and try again!
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