#which is sad and i don't really understand why??

[thekoalapastriesbakery]

BUZZED!

formula one x male!reader

request: Okay okay, here me out, Male!reader gets a buzzcut and the drivers find out via like instagram or something and they get really whiny abt it.

summary: you get a buzz cut without telling your boyfriend

warnings: initial instagram post is just for reference + reader only posts whichever one applies to you most!, swearing, playful arguing

contains: alex albon, lance stroll, + lewis hamilton

youruser has added to their story!

written: time for a change ✂️

alex albon:

"WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOOO?" alex yelped as soon as he walked through the door of your shared apartment.

you had just been lounging on the sofa, scrolling through social media to pass the time. you jumped slightly at your boyfriend's shouting. "what? what did i do?"

alex rounded the corner into the living room and pointed at your hair with a pout.

"that! what did you?!"

"alex, i just cut my hair." you chuckled, staying slumped on the sofa.

alex whined. "how could you do this to me???"

"you're so dramatic, oh my fucking god." you rolled your eyes lightheartedly. as much as you loved your boyfriend, he sure knew how to be dramatic. "it's not that bad?"

"yes it is!" alex insisted. "what am i supposed to do now when i want your attention?!"

"ask for it like a normal person?"

"it's like you don't even know me." alex huffed, flopping down on the sofa beside you.

you laughed quietly and put your phone away. "it will grow back, y'know?"

your boyfriend tilted his head to look at you with a a pout. "and what am i supposed to do until then?"

"cope?"

he whined again and poked you in the ribs, making you squirm slightly. "you're so mean."

"yeah, well, it's not getting reattached," you argued. alex ran his hand over the shaved hair with a sigh. "better get used to it, baby."

"fine ... but never again, okay?"

"no promises."

lance stroll:

the second you walked into your boyfriend's hotel room, he was right in front of you. lance crossed his arms and pouted at you.

"uh-oh," you murmured.

a sheepish smile crossed your lips. you tentatively stepped forward until you were close enough to pull lance into a hug, which you were very pleased to say he didn't reject. hopefully that meant he wasn't too upset.

"why did you have to get a buzz cut?" lance whined, pushing your shoulder.

you hummed. the truth of it was that the haircut had been an impulsive action rather than a conscious decision, but ... well, it was done now. "it's just hair, baby."

"no, it's not," lance argued with a pout. "it's your hair. which you let me play with and wash and put bows in and stuff."

"yeah, i hope you understand i would literally never let anybody else touch my hair as much as you do," you pointed out. was a part of you hoping to distract lance with a sweet statement? perhaps. but he didn't need to know that.

lance paused for a moment. he seemed torn between being sad and whiny about your hair, and being happy about what you said. sue him. he liked to feel special. "... then why did you cut it?"

"because i wanted to?" you shrugged. your hands dropped to lance's waist and tugged him closer, making him squeak quietly. "it's summer and it's hot and i don't need a fur coat on my head?"

"but what about the bows?" lance pouted at you.

a little grin tugged at your lips. "well, i can put them in your hair?"

your boyfriend seemed to short circuit at the idea of you putting bows in his hair. his lips parted in surprise, before his expression morphed into a goofy grin. "okay."

lewis hamilton:

the first reaction you got from lewis about your haircut was a text. he must've already been close to home, but apparently he felt the need to freak out about you getting a buzz cut as early as possible.

you cut your hair?

... yes?

it hadn't taken you long to reply. a minute at most. evidently, that was long enough for your boyfriend to get to your door. he flung it open, a dramatic frown on his face. "why?"

"hello to you too," you muttered, standing up to greet your boyfriend with a kiss. "because it was getting in my eyes, lew."

"so?" lewis raised an eyebrow at you.

you scoffed playfully, thinking he was just having a joke and not being serious. "so i couldn't see."

"so?" lewis repeated.

not joking, apparently.

"i can see?" he poked at the now-short strands with a wary expression. "i'd lead you places??"

"lewis."

your boyfriend pouted. he let out a dramatic sigh and turned away from you. "fine, i guess you like your vision more than you love me, then."

knowing he was just milking it, you wrapped your arms around lewis from behind and kissed his temple cheekily. "yes! glad you understand."

"... brat."

"love you too, lew."

©thekoalapastriesbakery :: please do not copy or rewrite my work on any platform !!

author's note: anon i am SO hearing you out (can you guys tell i love whiny boys yet)

comments + reblogs appreciated!

taglist: @raizelchrysanderoctavius @crispysoup318 @op-81-lvr-reblogs @ncrsbrg @spoonfulofmilo @justaf1girl @widow-cevans

[lolo-chi]

WHAT A TIME TO BE A GEN (and sengen) FAN, Gen focused ED this is so peak 🛐🛐🛐

sad they cut off the personalized drinks from françois I was really looking forward to seeing it animated (bc of the COLORS!!), but also understandable considering pacing, dunno if they'll put it in the next episode or scrap it altogether

BUT!!!!! Gen focused ED. Gen focused ED with a sengen parallel and ugen being so fucking cute at the end of it, like oh my god why are they so cute

look my beautiful son.......

fucking cuties they make me so UGHHHH

They make me ill, they make me so ill, they make me so insane, back to ao3 i must go

AND PLEASE LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT THEM LOOK AT THEEEEEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my beloveds, they're so awes, thank you TMS Entertainment for giving us peak after peak with this ED

I gasped when I saw the cards btw, tarot!! I love tarot. Though i did get unsure once we saw the other cards

If it actually is tarot i guess we have the Star (Suika), the Lovers (Taiju and Yuzuriha), Justice (Ukyo), The Magician (Gen), Emperor (Ryusui), Strength (Kohaku), The World (Tsukasa, but also feels like it could be Temperance to me idk, symbols wise it's very obviously The World), Chrome (The Fool) and then I cannot tell you for the life of me what Senku is, like I'd say the Moon but it feels like it doesn't fit? (edit: Other people have given their opinion, Gen's The Moon while Senku's The Magician), and the other cards don't appear to be major arcana to me, though I'm guessing Hyoga's the Knight of Wands, Ginro and Kinro, as well as Mozu and Kirisame are probably wands as well? Can't tell which I couldn't see very well, and Minami and Nikki I can't see but I'll guess something pentacles?

I have no idea yeah, (i wonder if they're gonna have the cour 2 ED have more cards symbolizing Xeno's people and it's gonna be a full tarot at the end? If they do that that'd be cool as hell, though I very much doubt it'll come back for the next two EDs)

[gatheredfates]

Playerscope, modding and the hunt for aesthetic: why you should be more upset about mods and community expectations than you already are.

I love that this sounds like an academic paper but HONESTLYYYY. I need to put my thoughts to paper in regards to my burnout with xiv, otherwise I think I'll go insane. This is a controversial yet brave post. I am well aware that I partake in some of the things I'm going to be critiquing; aka, "thank you, dinklebottom, we live in a society." I'm also not critiquing mods from a space of offering more accessibility to people and/or facilitating representation not currently offered within the context of the game. There is nuance to every discussion and I'm coming at this from an overarching view around mods and community expectations/standards rather than player joy. I hope this makes sense. I'm also predominately writing from a roleplay perspective, though I'm sure a lot of what I end up saying can reflect in the art party/social space. Just know if I haven't mentioned the latter it's because that's not my scene and I don't pretend to know otherwise.

Anyway. For those who don't know, there's a new mod that's causing some strife in the xiv community called Playerscope. Here is the reddit thread about it. I'm not going to be talking too much about the mod in general because that's not the point of this post, but seeing discussion around it today just made me feel more exhausted than I already am when it comes to modding and the xiv community around it. It made me realise... I'm actually really sick to death of mods. I'm sick to death of what they're doing to the community when it comes to gatekeeping, policing and in general the interactions we have with each other in the community.

Let me explain: I wrote a post about the roleplay mod on bsky that kind of articulates at a surface level what I mean.

I think what makes me sad, which I'm sure is echoed by a lot of people, is that mods feel like the standard now rather than an option and that there's a certain expectation for people to have them if they want to engage with facets of the community—whether intentional or not.

Unlike XIV, WoW has a supported mod scene (within reason) and TRP 2 and the like have been accepted for years now. In a space where people can't slap on an RP tag, having that tool readily identifies you as a writer/roleplayer and you can include as much or as little of your character as you like. The general idea is if you have one of these tools enabled, you're a roleplayer to some capacity. You can dress up the profile to a certain degree, you can add links and supported pictures, but you're mostly reliant on what you put to paper in regards to your character. Even then, I find filling out what my character is doing currently and marking the rest as a WIP doesn't necessarily exclude me from roleplay if I want to find it. A lot of people will do that and a super simple description to incite interest around their oc.

These days in XIV... I don't know. I do think communities have gotten more insular—it's why I'm so pedantic about trying to find them for the Compendium—but I also think mods and, to a certain extent, the 'nightclub' scene have gotten in the way of it as well. My argument is such.

I want to go to an event (for example sake, I'll call it Seascape). In order to fully participate, I may need:

Their discord.

A roleplay addon.

A carrd/google site/etc.

Their synchshell (including mods, mare and everything else)

Potentially a mod of some description so people know I can see theirs (and vice versa).

Also that your mod isn't made by a shitty person.

Appropriate understanding of the scene/social space.

Some luck and a prayer that it's an inclusive space and not a closed rp group advertising as being open and/or a mod showcase advertising itself as something different.

Like??? Holy shit you guys. If you are someone who doesn't want to mod because you're worried about repercussions it really just feels like a big 'fuck you, good luck'.

And let me be clear, not every community is like this. I'm incredibly lucky to have found fantastic roleplay within my own rp event/community, I have great friends who run awesome, inclusive events for people of any skill (writing or otherwise) and I do fully believe you can just enable the rp tag and find fun, fulfilling roleplay. But I've also found the above a lot of times, too. I've had people point-blank get mad at my partner because he won't install mods and try to exclude and/or circumvent him in spaces. It's weird. I've been to events where the only time I felt like I got proper interaction(s) was when I joined the aforementioned, even if I have my character's profile linked in my about. It's weird.

Honestly, no wonder new roleplayers feel overwhelmed. Not only do they have to learn roleplay etiquette, they have to be a mod expert overnight? It feels less about what someone can bring to the table as far as a story but what mods they can install to either look cool or pass an unspoken social barrier. As much as I'm down bad for aesthetic and looking the part, I hate it being at the cost of accessibility and fun for someone else.

Arguably it's the same for gposing and the like as well, which contributes to my exhaustion alongside all the graphical changes and I just. I'm gnawing at the bars of my cage.

I don't think it's going to change and arguably it's more of a Twitter/X issue than a Tumblr, one but Tumblr lets me write mini essays and Twitter will tell me to kms.

Ergo, I'll go with the essay-writing platform.

Anyway, I guess this is just a reminder that you don't need 4596419651 mods to be in the community and that people should be more vigilant on including people who don't have them for whatever reason, provided they operate in good-faith and want to contribute. I think we're careening to a slippery slope of expectation for something unsupported and I don't like it.

[sulfies]

"Its 5 am"

A soft heat landed on Desmond's shoulders, he pulled the corners of the blanket closer.

"I know, I know... I should be asleep" He sighs scooting the chair back and leaning to look at the ceiling. "I will... sooner or later. I just, I really rather it be "later" "

"And I rather not see you like this."

He finally looked at Altaïr with a weak smirk.

"Oh I know just how you like to see me-" "Desmond..."

Desmond sighed. He was tired, exhousted, sad and many more, all of it just wanted to explode out of him but he just didn't know how.

"I..." He mouthed the words he wanted to say. "Just..." Leaning forward he put his head on his hands. "I don't want to... I-"

"You are scared..."

Desmond blinked hard, refusing the tears that wanted to fall.

"Why?"

He sucked in a hard breath. He was not going to cry about a problem of his own making.

"Desmond... Whatever you are scared of will not ha-"

He felt like a child throwing a tantrum. "God, I sound so stupid I know, but what if it does?" He wiped his face and looked back.

"Your body will do it for you if you don't."

A deep breath and he tried to speak more calmly to control the tremble in his voice. "I realize that... but if it gives me 1 more hour here..."

"Here? Alone in your room, miserable? I get why-"

"No you don't get why..."

Desmond turned back to the table, trying to carve a hole in the desk with his gaze alone. "You don't get why, Ezio doesn't get why, Connor doesn't get why! It is, literally, impossible for you guys to get it, okay?"

"At least let us try? But you won't even talk to us about it!" Altaïr was getting frustrated.

"How can I even start? I don't even know where I can begin. I barely even know this shit works myself!"

He just didn't want to blink and for it all to be gone, he did not want to see that grey, soulless place ever again. He hated it back then, he hated it even more now.

"If I sleep I might wake up" He shook his head, what a profound sentence he came up with.

"come again?"

"I-I don't want to lose this... Whatever this is and I don't know if I will! İts a gamble each time I go to sleep"

"Why would you lose us?"

A chuckle slipped past him "Come on Altaïr, why do I even have you guys now? For fucks sake I died! You were born thousands and thousands of years ago and now you are here! Same with the others! Nothing makes sense nothing ever feels real and I am scared it actually is not!" He dug his nails into his palm, he wanted to bang his head against a wall.

"I am so scared, in one second I will be finally happy and breathe, then the next second I will be back in that place. There is nothing there Altaïr, nothing. No sounds, not even your own breathing. At least the last time they gave me an island and... And 16 was there to keep me company but now if I go back I am scared that there will be nothing."

He took a breath, then another since it was getting harder to.

"I fucking died so, so, so many times. As you, As Connor and As Ezio. From age and my own mistakes. Then I died myself and sometimes I wonder if I actually did or if this is a sick joke and I am still in that goddamn machine that is sucking me for all I am worth just to keep me going!" His fist banged on the table, he wanted to wreck something. "Or maybe Juno is playing with me, showing me a piece of heaven before she spits on my corpse"

Two cold hands wrapped around his own, taking his gaze away from the desk he saw Altaïr with his brows in a concerned burrow, which was becoming a common expression he had whenever he was with him. "I will never know Altaïr and it scares me. For all I know you guys could be programs to make me spea-"

"Okay enough" The hands on his squeezed harshly, Altaïr moved his hands to pull Desmond's chair to the side so he could speak eye to eye.

"You cannot talk about my being like I am not here Desmond." He took a breath to collect himself as well "You are right, I might never understand but you don't get to tell me what I am when I am right in front of you, you don't get to tell me I can't try to understand. I feel real to myself and you feel damn real to me" His hand holds Desmond's cheek.

"but if you keep up like this I'm not sure how long you can keep yourself from going insane to the point of no return. You can't live like this." Desmond's lips became a thin line. "I don't want you to live like this, I know me or any of us being here is not normal but nothing ever was. An orb, holding mind-controlling powers and secrets to the time itself is not normal, Ancient beings leaving a message through us to you is not normal. Do you think I, myself don't think this is too good to be real?" His other hand squeezed Desmond's knee, he sighed and continued, at least Desmond was listening for now.

"Nothing ever is normal in the life of an Assassin and if it was I would never have you. So don't take this away from me by deciding that this-" he gestured between them. "Is temporary"

He placed a small kiss on Desmond's salty cheek only to hear a sob spill out of the man. "We are all riddled with the same fear, yours is..." He could not even begin to comprehend from what little Desmond had told them.

He drew him into a hug "I wonder many nights if this is a last dream from the apple for keeping it safe, If it will end one day before I rest forever in my tomb filled with books."

Desmond was crying now, silently as he could but Altaïr could feel the damp patch on his shoulder "And if it is a last thank-you gift I rather spend every grain of that hourglass with you by my side, stop torturing yourself. If it is a limited time we have together, enjoy it with me" A shakey breath and a sob slipped from Desmond as the damp patch grew.

Altaïr held him through the shaking and pain, in a sick way he was happy to at least hold Desmond after so long and have him for just himself for a little while.

He was lucky, unlike Desmond all of them chose death on their own terms and tasted it slowly. Not with a bang and flash of lights but with a much-needed rest, in a slumber.

"Come, Ill kee-"

Oh...

He realized the hug had much more weight to it than before.

With a slight smile, he sighed in relief, Desmond's body made the choice for him it seemed.

"Ill keep guard for you Desmond, alright?"

He smiled softly and brushed the passed-out man's hair. Sometimes he forgot that while Desmond lived decades in their body he only got to see two of his own life.

He dragged Desmond more into himself and lifted him up softly to walk to his room.

If needed to be he would gladly take the burden of being awake forever to put him at ease.

[lordofmelancholy]

Modern Timebomb HC:

HC that even in a modern setting, regardless on whether or not the life she lives is "better" and less tragedy filled, that Jinx still has her issues which only tend to get worse when she get's older. As a result of it, she's a bit of a gassed out wild child who while sure is still good at her classes (surprisingly) even though she is one of those funny ha ha clowns, is still very much not into good coping mechanisms which as a result have exacerbated the issues she goes through.

Drugs, booze, multiple sabotaged attempts at companionship and a handful of toxic relationships surely don’t help her cause. And of course seemingly to add a nail to the coffin, is the fact that everybody knows her for the same reasons mentioned, but no one actually knows her. Even her sister doesn’t fully understand her, and that’s sad cause Vi wants to, it’s just hard. So as a result, Jinx basically becomes that one person. Whose somehow still so alone in a crowded room.

However, even with everything going against her, the one constant she tends to always have is whenever she's having a bad night or day, she ALWAYS sneaks off to go see Ekko.

Who knows why it’s always Ekko. Even after so many years even Ekko is unsure why it’s always Ekko. Hell even Jinx doesn't know why, but Ekko for the longest time has always tended to be her safe space. She always finds herself calmer and more in-tune with herself whenever she is with him. That's NOT to say her family doesn't help. But their help just doesn't FEEL the same compared to his.

It’s always Ekko who’s there for her. Who’s there to pick her up off the bathroom floor at some seedy club or some shit. Who’s always there while she throws up everything but her memories. Whose with her during the multiple hospital visits when the “fun” gets to be to much and she over does it. She hates to do that to him of course. She hates to make him sad. He doesn't deserve that. So when they get older she tries to distance herself from him, to put space between them to save him the heartache and trouble. But they always manage to somehow find a way to get back to each other.

(They could never stay so far away from each other for so long.) Its sometime around then, that Ekko was quick to realize, or perhaps he already always knew, that he was her safe place, a soft comforting place to fall. And she fell often, and she often fell hard. . .and he's very sorry he's all she has to fall on now.

But oh. . . he would never have it any other way. . .

But thats not so easy for Jinx to admit. . .

Drugs booze, clubbing. None of it is “fun” anymore because it’s run out the fun for her. She’s literally just doing it for the same reason she started

escape

So whatever you do, Don’t picture jinx on the bathroom floor of some seedy night club. Don’t picture jinx on the bathroom floor bathed under the moody blue of club lights. Don't picture her shaky and sweaty and sick because she over did it again. Don't picture her taking out her cellphone, and going through her contacts and stopping at just one number in particular.

Just one Don't picture her ready to press call only to stop halfway because does she call him?

should she?

She feels like death has keeled over. She knows she needs help, but him? Does she really do that to him again? Does she really wanna put him through that again?

Hasn’t she done enough to him already?

Is it easier to just forget? To leave it be? To make it easier on everyone?

It’s late he’s probably asleep. . .

Does she leave it?

well. . .of course she does

Don’t picture her putting her phone away

Don’t picture her curling up on herself, crying like the mess she is.

In fact, Don’t picture her at all. Cause she’s not so sure if she really wants to be remembered at all anymore

She doesn’t want to remember anymore She doesn’t want to be remembered anymore. And how scary it is that she’s so content with the idea of dying forgotten, dying here alone, that she doesn’t even bother to call anyone as if the idea of it is second nature.

How easy it is for her to just put the phone away. Curl up and let the world go dark. And she does do that. Because it is easy. To just slip away like this. No one knows she’s here anyways. It’s so easy

Or at least it would have been. Had someone not forgotten about her. But of course, what did she suspect? He always did seem to have a six sense when it came to finding her. Knowing when she needed him.

So it really shouldn't come as no surprise to her, that when she wakes up (tragically), even tho she expects to be picking herself up off the bathroom floor of that seedy club right before closing time when the lasting club music throbs her skull into pieces, that that’s not what she wakes up to Instead it's too a breeze instead, and the low thrum of a car's engine and her head lying against the window and all she sees outside of it is the slowly passing amber lights of street lamps. The suns coming up but it’s still dark. And if she turns her head just slightly, and forgets the headache that’s blasting in her brain, she'll see him. And there he is

There he always is.

One hand on the steering wheel, the other on her knee. The gesture is familiar. And perhaps she's too drunk and drugged up to know any better, but she will cry, and she will apologize to him for doing this to him again. And maybe later they’ll argue like they usually do, about how insistent she is that he should just leave her and go on with his life and forget about her.

But for now she’s tired. And she feels his hand on her knee, thumb rubbing her kneecap and she cries and she apologizes and all he can say is

"I know love. . I know"

And there’s no malice in his tone because he does. . .he does know, and he does understand. . . he always did know her better then the others. Perhaps even more then she herself did. And jinx is not sure if she’s happy about that or not.

But for now she'll just sleep in the passenger seat. Sad and miserable and sick But not alone

[candiiee]

ᴅᴇᴋᴜᴛᴏʙᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ: ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴀʟ ɢɪʀʟ

summary: Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki get hit by a villain’s quirk, and transform into magical girls

warnings: swearing, Bakugo antics

an: y/n teases them

This was fucking hilarious. Seeing the class hothead, cutey, and pretty boy walk in, wearing girly outfits, looking like something straight out of sailor moon. Not that you were hating of course. They looked really hot.

Izuku was beet red, trying to appear nonchalant, Bakugo giving everyone the death glare, and Todoroki, who looked like he could care less, though he did look a little smug.

Sero wolf whistled, "bold fashion choice, but nice legs!" You snickered, taking out your phone, taking secret pics, for blackmail purposes and general appreciation of how nice they looked.

Izuku stammered, "i-uh-um.."

"you look manly, Bakubro!" Kirishima said, genuinely impressed.

"shut up shitty hair!" Bakugo barked, as you tried to suppress a giggle.

"eye candy in the morning, how nice." You coo, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively at Izuku, making him squirm as he avoided your gaze.

"I take it none of you decided to become strippers, so what's with the get up?" Denki asked, genuinely curious.

"maybe they like to cosplay?" Jirou quips, snickering silently.

"we were hit by a quirk when we took down a low rank villain yesterday." Todoroki speaks up, making everyone nod in understanding.

"so you didn't just wake up and decide to show off your legs?" You say, still smirking.

"o-of course not!" Izuku stammered, "we can't even take off these outfits!"

You hum, "you sure? Try right now."

Todoroki with no hesitation, tried to take off the top. "Todoroki! Stripping in a classroom is strictly forbidden!" Iida says, chopping the air, giving you a look.

You roll your eyes, "personally I was hoping Izuku would fall for it." Izuku flushes, as if he can't fathom why you would ever want to see him shirtless. Poor innocent boy.

You shoot him a cheeky grin, making him flush even more. "Showing up to school on those outfits takes guts." You say, smirking at Bakugo. "Right, Kachan?"

"shut the fuck up sassy extra!" Bakugo snarls, looking like he's going to explode, which makes sense, because of his quirk. Izuku tried to calm him down, "y'know, you guys should be careful. Don't wanna accidentally flash anyone, right? they could faint from being subjected to three hotties!" You quip, feeling pleased as you make Izuku and Bakugo blush, Todoroki looking confused.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Bakugo says, looking like he's gonna strangle you.

You grin, "yeah yeah. You're just sad Izuku looks prettier then you."

Izuku squeaks, looking like he's gonna faint.

"are you done?" A tired voice asks, and everyone scrambles into their seats.

"Of course, sensei!" You say, using your good girl voice.

@candiiee 2024

prompt by @/getstarried

Taglist: @dokidokidraft @mo0nforme

[honeyspeeches]

everyone in the tags of that ao3 post shocked that Voltron is number one as if everyone and their dog and their mom didn't constantly post about voltron on every social media in existance, like it was inescapable

[dootznbootz]

Fascinating how Polites, the character who is the personification of Odysseus' optimism and is only in 5 songs, is more grieved and appreciated than Eurylochus, a character who is his own person and is in 11 songs.

[tothepointofinsanity]

what are your thoughts on Madoka and Sayaka's relationship? I always thought it was underrated for how complex and tragic it is.

Madoka and Sayaka's relationship function similarly to that of a knight and a princess, so both their friendship or couple pairing are interesting to me. It seems to be intentional that Sayaka was crafted with a knight motif in mind to click with Madoka's vulnerability. The tragedy is that Sayaka was way too young and inexperienced to be shouldering such expectations in a friendship. Taking up the role of a protector at every turn because she wanted to protect everyone has always been a contributing factor to how fast Sayaka burned out.

Contrarily, Madoka's struggle with her own helplessness throughout the show was also part of the reason why Sayaka said a lot of terrible thing to her, but deeply regretted her actions to the point where she succumbed to Witching out away from Madoka. Madoka, at least in this "final" timeline, was not there to see her own childhood best friend change into something else. To, in a way, "die", and be reborn as the same monster that all magical girls were hunting after in a frenzy. Homura was right that Sayaka brings Madoka grief — it seems that in almost timeline, since Sayaka becomes a Witch as long as she becomes a magical girl unlike Mami or Kyoko, Sayaka is a consistent source of Madoka's grief. Whenever Madoka becomes a magical girl, then, her aspirations are based on Sayaka's sacrifice and ideals, except Madoka actually has the power to "save everyone". I believe Madoka loved Sayaka as Sayaka may not have been an "effective" magical girl, but she was the one who was willing to sacrifice her soul for her ideals, regardless of how naïve they were. To Madoka, who was so ensnared by her sense of uselessness, Sayaka was the closest thing to an idol or a star for the courage required to be a magical girl. Sayaka's desire to make the world a safer and justified place for people was so inspiring to Madoka that even when Madoka becomes Kriemhild Gretchen, the Witch's whole gimmick is "creating heaven on earth, a Witch content only if there is no more grief in existence". A prospect deeply held onto by Madoka that even Gretchen embodies it.

It's probably why Madoka's wish to save all magical girls would definitely sound equally impossible to he audience and the incubators, but Madoka herself says, "If someone says it's wrong to hope, I will tell them that they're wrong every time." Sayaka was often called foolish for her ideals and hopes, and Madoka was the only other person aside from Kyoko who understands Sayaka's struggles so much that she outright tells people that Sayaka was never wrong — this is how Madoka protects Sayaka. Madoka would never want anyone to say any of the magical girls' wishes were wrong or foolish. It was how Sayaka also found her peace at the end of the show: to be understood and not viewed as an object that would eventually be replaced in the cycle of magical girls and Witches.

Madoka and Sayaka eventually learned how to protect each other. Sayaka doesn't need to suffer from her own overbearing expectations anymore, and Madoka can finally be something even more to protect her angel: A God.

[saturnaous]

I never stop thinking about them.

SEND ME ART REQUESTS BOY

[megumi-fm]

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[winepresswrath]

I do gotta say tho, even tho I’m mad at aziraphale because he’s being a terrible boyfriend like what you said about the “I forgive you like” because WHAT. But also I really like the way the show really demonstrates the underlying cruelty of heaven and it’s angels. Really shows the hypocrisy of a group of beings who are supposed to do good, especially aziraphale who really buys into the heaven propaganda, who hurts people, particularly the person who means the most to him. Because like you said he fully just takes advantage of that devotion Crowley has for him. Insane, this shwo makes me INSANE

I missed this anon and yeah! The angels were one of my favourite parts of the season, and I think the strongest element aside from Neil Gaiman deciding he's just a simple man who wants to put his otp in situations. They are deeply awful and I kind of love them. They are the exact kind of moralizing hypocrites who are callous and cruel precisely because they think being on team good means everything they do is justified and it's actually impossible for them to be in the wrong (they're angels! is it even possible for them to do the wrong thing?).

but!! To me, they also seem like they're basically kids? Obviously they're not literally children, but there is this very consistent reoccurring joke about how childish/sheltered/immature they are. Muriel is the most obvious example, but the archangels come off like bratty twelve year olds to her sweet little kid.

Gabriel is basically teenager in love flipping off his family as he runs away with his backstreet guy. Uriel is constantly picking at Michael, Michael is playing at being in charge like it's a game, and it's ridiculously easy for both Aziraphale and Crowely to trick them obvious half assed lies. They're not allowed to ask questions! The Metatron treats them like badly behaved kids out past their curfew. At any point an old man with a beard may pop up to scold them and send them home, and they're all scared of doing something wrong by his standards and getting in trouble with this guy who is pointedly not God but who lines up exactly with the pop-culture idea of god the father, and who offers Aziraphale, among other things, a respite from the hard work of figuring out what the right thing to do is for himself. It's fine! You don't have to question the belief system you were born into or make a painful break with everything you've ever known! Aziraphale has had six thousand years on earth to grow up, but the other angels have been sitting in a sterile white box playing "i'm not touching you" games with each other and filing paperwork.

And I think that's extra interesting because this season also really emphasizes:

Heaven has Institutional Problems

Aziraphale isn't the only angel who's unhappy in heaven. Gabriel and Muriel were both completely miserable. They just didn't understand that they were unhappy because they'd never experienced anything else.

Angels who aren't Aziraphale can change and grow! There's very explicitly Gabriel being changed by love and Muriel growing up a bit on earth, and from a more fan-theory angle there's also Jimbriel, who I think is probably basically Gabriel minus the war and six thousand years of playing referee for Michael and Uriel while unleashing an assortment of plague and calamities on earth because that's God's will! Buck up champ.

We also get Gabriel and Beezelebub talking about how their underlings basically live for Armageddon, "if you can call that living." This is so bleak. They've all been on a six thousand year time out just dreaming of the day they get to beat the shit out of each other until they feel better, but it won't work because eternity is just more of the box.

Anyway I think it's going in a distinctly eden adjacent direction. Aziraphale is going to tempt those angels with knowledge and the capacity for change. I have veered so far from your ask anon i'm sorry you're right heaven really went all out on sucking this season & while Crowley and Aziraphale are both fucking it up Crowley refrains from being spectacularly cruel to Aziraphale about it and Aziraphale should learn to return the favour. I forgive you!! I forGIVE you. I forgive YOU. "you can be an angel again" is actually a worse thing to say than "you're a demon. i don't even like you." when he finally picks crowley over heaven i'm going to lose my mind.

[running-in-the-dark]

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[scorndotexe]

genuinely sorry about all the dndposting recently it hasn't even been interesting but i'm so desperate to dm. i've got storytelling skills!!! i've got improv skills!!! i want to build a story around characters!!! i want to see what players do with what i give them!!!

[protectcosette]

there's something very special about hanging out with new friends

[transmasc-tabris]

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