#it's a bittersweet ending but it was perfect imo

[dogmoder]

people who think that jimmy should've taken the 7 years deal

[twobellsilence]

not sure if this is a hot take but the ain't afraid to die remake isn't. that good

[deus-lapidis]

Forever and always.

— Diluc’s Wedding Layout [modern]

Characters: Diluc x fem!reader

Genre: fluff

A/N: this is written for @hiraya-rawr as a specialty treat in hopes of bringing her some joy. Therefore it was crafted with a female reader in mind, but imo, fuck gender norms and read it if you want to read it, as long as you’re comfortable <3

I’m also really sorry for being like…dead.. streaming and irl matters have consumed my time and genshin hasn’t been a bit tiring. I’m very hyped about Fontaine though!

Preparation and Planning [hehe…PP]

The attire

Diluc likes to spoil you. He has the money from his family business and on what else should he be spending it on if not on things that conjure such a sweet smile on your face :>

Though he cannot come with you to pick out your wedding dress, he makes sure that at least one of his maids will accompany you and of course bear his request in mind; for his lover to get nothing but the best, the finest and the most extraordinary to match your person!

Whatever you wish for, he will absolutely fund. Pearls or dainty jewels, lace or maybe silk, a veil or maybe a crown even? It will be yours, just say the word.

When it comes to his suit picking though, he has his brother tagging along with Venti and Rosaria, since they all invited themselves to the attire picking occasion. They spent so much time with the dawn winery heir that they practically HAVE to join in.

They make lots of stupid remarks though and poke fun, while having champagne, so Diluc also decides to confide in his childhood friend Jean and her little sister Barbara, texting the siblings to ask for their opinion.

They settle on a classy and sleek looking black suit with a few bronze touches that remind of his coat.

He gets a bit emotional once seeing himself in his wedding attire, cause then it really sinks in. He’s here. Picking out the suit that he’s gonna wear to his wedding, to YOUR wedding. Oh my god, he’s gonna marry you. You, the love of his life and his beloved partner ohdeararchons—

The bubbling champagne glasses of his cheery friends clink, a toast in the background, as he himself — refraining from alcohol while picking out such important garments — puts on his fifth potential wedding suit. The previous ones have been quite beautiful, but not to his taste in the end and he strived for your wedding to be absolutely perfect. While he was absentmindedly buttoning his black dress shirt, his thoughts drifted to you, his lovely fiancée. A small smile stretched out on his lips, one that he couldn’t fight when he thought of you, his ears dusted pink when he allowed himself to picture you in a wedding gown. Archons, was he ever so smitten.

The wedding cake

You two go to a local, fancy bakery to taste test and assemble your dream wedding cake.

That part was far less nerve wrecking, since it also sort of felt like a sweet date. You two were spending time at the bakery together and while he was actually never that fond of sweets, he enjoyed a lot of the cakes.

He watched you with his gentle vermilion gaze, he was utterly and hopelessly smitten <3

Well frankly said he also found that they tasted a lot better, since you were insisting on feeding him the different cake flavours :)

You settled on a dark chocolate cake, since it seemed to be a rather classic flavour, rich and bittersweet.

The sweet scents of cake samples waft through the tasting room, you sitting there with him and gleefully trying the next flavour.

“Mhm! Diluc, try this. I think you’ll like it.” You lifted the fork to his lips, offering your fiancé a bite of coffee cake, gently prodding his mouth with the utensil.

He chuckled at your gesture, smitten eyes gazing at you in amusement, before accepting the bite and letting the cake melt on his tongue.

He really could get used to this.

The actual wedding:

Boy, he’s so nervous.

So here’s the thing, his father had always been an anchor for him for anxious moments in his young years, Crepus being there to validate and reassure his son. During adulthood he found himself bottling things up and managing just fine, yet in this moment, he feels like a vulnerable young boy again. Yes, he’s suited up for his adult wedding with his very adult beloved. His once innocent eyes, now matured over time, staring back at him in the mirror, his strong facial features of an unshakable man and yet he feels so young and helpless.

His brother had to come and calm him down a little, even almost resorting to calling you via phone to help his awkward redhead brother relax, but they ended up managing on their own.

(Venti put on a stupid song and Diluc’s nervousness easily transformed into stressed aggravation.)

The first look had him in tears. He’s quite sniffly, but he’s trying to contain himself for the sake of the wedding and his image. Truthfully, he’s really excited to marry you. You are wonderful inside and out and he can’t wait for you to be his and for him to be yours.

As soon as he (somewhat) recovered, he opted to wrap his arms around you, forehead pressing against yours, as he whispers sweet nothings to you.

“I love you. My darling.”

Finally, it was was ceremony time! Tears were shed. A lot of them. Vows were exchanged through more tears and croaked out chuckles.

The kiss was chaste and loving, just utterly perfect, a perfect start for your married life.

Bennett cried, Razor was happy to be included, Klee was the little flower girl, Fischl was ??? Oz was translating.

Kaeya held the absolutely most perfect speech as the best man. More tears were shed. Both because of gooey soft feelings and just utter amusement at his funny remarks and embarrassing Diluc anecdotes.

The first dance was a dreamy but nervous waltz, Diluc’s refined training as a young boy slipping out as he lead you. Gently swirling you while his own eyes focused on your shared joy, smiling ever so softly at you in an absolutely love drunk fashion.

Diluc offered you his hand, leading you to the dance floor when his brother announced the first dance of the newlyweds.

Pulling you closer to his body, he placed one hand on your waist, while the other held your right hand, he smiled encouragingly when you placed your left hand on his shoulder.

You followed his steps, swaying and twirling to the familiar music. Your eyes never breaking away from each other, smitten love radiating from the both of you.

He looked incredibly handsome like this, hair out of his face, lips curled upwards in happiness. You never wanted to forget this moment.

In his eyes, your bright smile was something to be engraved and tucked away into his heart forever.

Eventually the music died down, leaving you two swaying in each other’s arms happily, him pressing a kiss on your forehead, before resting his head against yours.

“I love you. Forever and always.”

[sitp-recs]

Top five fic endings

Ahh that’s such a perfect ask! Love myself a happy ending, but I love a clever ending even better. These are all quiet bangers imo, would love to see everyone’s picks!

1. Still Life (orphaned)

2. And Save Me From Bloody Men by @blamebrampton - this brilliant and evocative open ending haunts me to this day, rip Liv 🪦

3. Far From the Tree by aideomai - bittersweet and still deeply satisfying, a perfect ending to wrap up such an emotional rollercoaster

4. An Emerald in the Sky by @corvuscrowned - crow has blown my mind with other endings (see: The Other Cottage) but this one is poetic in its complex simplicity and resonates so hard

5. Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid - I’m not usually a crier but I cried like a baby reading one of the final scenes (no spoilers but 🦊), so overwhelmingly good

Bonus: In Dreams by @moonflower-rose - ch 1 ending is legit the best I’ve ever seen, what a banger!!!!

Top 5 asks!

[dsaf-confessions]

I have two of them

1: Steven x Peter isn't that bad honestly. Imo at least. It doesn't deserve the amount of hating it gets. 'But Steven ruined Peter's life by sending him to become a phone guy' the games go out of their way to show and even directly tell you that phone guys are slaved people who are brought back from the dead and forced to do as their programming says. Steven isn't an expert or anything he's just as slaved as the others were. And while he does say 'I hope u can forgive me for this' which kinda means that he knew it was bad? But honestly I still don't blame it on him fully. From my understanding phone guys are only capable of going 'against' (for lack of better word) their programming only if they have some humanity or memories when they were alive, which I dont think Steven does, in both dsaf1 & 3 hes fully convinced that he's Scott Cawthon and only remembers that he isnt after literally being forced to. 'they hate eachother' I've replayed all the dsaf games and I can't find anything confirming that. Steven obviously regrets what he did and wants to make it right to not just Peter, but everyone else as well. Peter and Steven don't interact much, but Peter hasn't said anything mean about Steven once. The only thing that implies this is Peter's line of Jack saving even those who don't deserve it. But honestly he never said it was about Steven. For all we know he could had been referring to Dave or hell even himself. 'Its boss x employee which would be toxic by realistic standards' ok I see your point but why compere realistic standards to fucking dsaf? You know what else would be incredible toxic by realistic standards too? Davesport. But the fandoms not ready for that talk.

Speaking of davesport

2: Davesport is hellaaaaaaa overrated. I get why people ship it. It has much potential. But honestly it's the only thing the fandom talks about and Im getting tired of it. Where's my Steven contact? Where's my Peter or Dee contact? Where's the phone guys, Henry, Jacktrap or hell even Davetrap contact? Where's the angst connect on the Kennedy siblings? The only endings this fandom talks about are like the Gnarly Endings even tho I think the good ending and pure evil endings in dsaf2 are much better better than the gnarly end. Contact of the legacy routes are almost non existent ESPECIALLY on the legacy route of 2 and when there's is. It's davesport angst. How about we make angst about how Jack literally kills his motherfucking sister that he literally died for in an even more curler dsaf3 legacy route. I also hate how much the fandom mischaracterizes it. No they aren't uwu gay boys, no they don't have a perfect relationship. Their relationship is fucking unhealthy, flawed and bittersweet. (No Im not saying davesport is a pr*ship don't accuse me of that, although it's an unhealthy relationship it's not an ab**ive one). Dave literally stalks Jack, he has cameras on his house for the real Fredbear's sake. Yes I know they're treated like jokes, yes I know that Jack doesn't seem to mind, yes I know that Dave & Jack ARE capable of being in a somewhat normal relationship, with Flipside Dave at least. But still that's not healthy. They are literally willing to kill eachother if they're opposite! Those are two dead courses that have been stripped almost completely out of all their humanity thanks to that pink fuck Henry. Obviously they won't be sweet and caring to eachother or anyone really. If you like Davesport at the very least actually protey it correctly.

This is coming from someone who doesn't even ship Steveter (that's what I'll call the ship) and loves Davesport btw

.

[iambic-beat]

WATCHED THE BBC GHOSTS FINALE. THAT WAS THE PERFECT ENDING IMO.

Something about the ghosts becoming self aware and putting Alison and her family before themselves. And YES the ending was a bit cheesy but it was so sweet and frankly very believeable. The final shot weirdly reminded me of the final shot of The Haunting of Bly Manor, with ghosts and love and family being the core themes. It was beautiful and bittersweet and I will cry about it for hours, probably.

[our-future-is-up-to-us-2]

My verdict on the BBC Ghosts Xmas Special:

- Beautifully festive

- Not their best Xmas special tho (because it wasn’t all that humorous imo)

- Emotional. Crying screaming sobbing EVERYTHING.

- Bittersweet ending but honestly so perfect how it felt like it was for good but it wasn’t, because Alison cares, Mike cares, THEY ALL CARE!! Fucking hell!!!

- Also Robin giving the final monologue was so touching for me, since he was the one that was so lost and finally was able to feel it all, being that mix of primal and wise

- MAT AND JIM HOW DARE YOU!!! I’m happy but I’m hurting jfc!!!!

[the-owl-house-takes]

https://www.tumblr.com/the-owl-house-takes/730456300423659520/it-was-so-lazy-of-them-to-make-belos-the-only-bad?source=share

(im a different anon btw)

"its just a happy ending, it doesnt mean everything is perfect"

then maybe the show shouldve actually done a better job at showing that

(even a single short scene/mention of e.g. a group of pro-belos ppl blaming shit on the rebels/collector wouldve been fine. or a mention of anti-human discrimination increasing bc of belos being human and not everyone trusting luz)

this is why i say a bittersweet ending wouldve been much better for toh imo

-

[panlight]

okay so about genuinely good writing (although I'm generally a stephenie meyer apologist about her writing so take this with a grain of salt) but I actually think the passage in eclipse where jacob is like, “if you had met me first and edward never moved to forks we would have fallen in love and made a life together” and bella is like, “yknow yeah you're probably right” and pictures the children she would have had with jacob. and idk I just always thought that was such a fascinating end to the love triangle. admitting that a life with jacob would have been effortless had she not met edward. (and low-key I wish there was some kind of fic where this did happen and then edward moved to forks when bella was in her forties because THAT would be a better love story than twilight just based on how creepy it would be)

SM has talked about this too; she has a bit in her Eclipse FAQ on her website that makes it pretty clear that Bella does not have just "love him like family" feelings for Jacob:

Bella does not fall in love with Jacob in Eclipse. Bella falls in love with Jacob in New Moon. I think it’s easy to understand why this fact doesn’t occur to her. Bella has only fallen in love one time, and it was a very sudden, dramatic, sweep-you-off-your-feet, change-your-world, magical, passionate, all-consuming thing (see: Twilight). Can you blame her for not recognizing a much more subtle kind of falling-in-love? Does this love devaluate her love for Edward? Not for me. For me, it makes that perfect true love stronger. Bella has another option. She has a really good one. An option that’s easier in many ways, that takes nothing—like her family, present or future—away from her. She would have love, and friendship, and family—an enviable human future. But she chooses Edward over all of this. This makes it real for me.

But then she goes and make Jacob her future son-in-law so like, IDK. Weird choice, there.

Anyway yes I agree that were was something really beautiful and bittersweet about the realization that she could have had a happy life with Jacob. I particularly remember, "I could see years passing, and meaning something as they passed, changing me," which is a stark contrast to the frozen existence of the vampires. . . and then she chose to also force Jacob not to age by having him imprinting on an immortal half-vampire and again I'm left scratching my head.

I still think Jacob/Bella got away from her in the middle books; that she found herself more interested in them, in him, than made sense if she wanted to stick to the E/B, Jacob/Renesmee ending and then had to scramble in her edit of Forever Dawn into Breaking Dawn to try and get that genie back in the bottle and it just . . . never quite worked IMO.

[otemporanerys]

Spectre Requisitions ‘23 - The Rec Post!!

It’s that time of year again! I took part in the Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange @spectre-requisitions-exchange (link to the collection here) and man. SO MUCH good shit.

I can’t reveal what I wrote (yet) but I have been reading through the collection and here’s a few incredible works that I really enjoyed! Remember to kudos and comment if you find anything you like 💖

(NB: I focused on fic, but honestly every bit of fanart I’ve seen for it is also incredible, please go check it out)

Gifts for Me

I was SO lucky this year - loyal friends will know that I’ve been suffering from a massive dose of Lawkarian brainrot, and I got not one, but TWO long-ass Garrus/Miranda fics!!!! honestly still can’t get over it, incredible

Between the Devil and the Deep, Garrus/Miranda, 20K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, fucks him to keep him sweet.

This is just. Pure filth, and I love it. Aliases, power plays, both Garrus and Miranda being amoral little weirdos. What more can you ask for?

The Woman in White, Garrus/Miranda, 16.9K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, doesn’t really do ANYTHING to keep him sweet (but they fuck anyway).

:chinhands: This is just. GORGEOUSLY written, and the begrudging way in which they start to like each other (but not too much) is incredible. Top-notch Garrus POV

Gen

loose ends, Maelon & Mordin, 9.9K, T

Set during and after ME3, canon-divergent AU. Maelon finds Mordin in the wreckage after Tuchanka and nurses him back to health.

I love their relationship in this - Mordin’s so aware of Maelon’s weaknesses (or what he perceives to be his weakness) but there’s still so much caring, despite the huge gulf between them. Also the easiest way to make me a teary mess is a Urdnot Mordin cameo 😭

The Stories We Tell, Joker & Tali, 3.1K, T

Set during ME1. Tali forces Joker to be her friend.

Really great dialogue for everyone - it’s very cute and fun until suddenly it’s not!!! which is rude!!! but still very good, A+++

Care and Maintenance, Kaidan & Tali, 2.2K, T

Set during ME1. Kaidan and Tali bond over dads, tech and Shepard’s reckless driving.

This one was just nice! And also who doesn’t love a bit of Shepard driving slander

F/F

swear, this one you’ll save, Nyreen/Solana, 1.5K, G

Pre-canon: five times Solana has a secret about Nyreen.

I’m only slightly obsessed with these two, and this fic was so perfect. Childhood friends to lovers is a god-tier trope, and it’s so deliciously bittersweet

Real, Beautiful, f!Shali, 0.7K, G

Post-ME3, A morning on Rannoch.

The post-war fluff we deserve, imo!

A Knife in Starlight, Morinth/f!Shepard, 1K, M

Set during ME2. Character study with a side of smut.

I think Morinth is incredibly interesting as a character, but the real standout of this fic is the Shepard - Ruthless, stone butch, wonderfully jagged.

M/M

Collide, m!Shakarian, 4.1K, M

Set during ME2. Friends-to-lovers and mutual pining.

I love m!Shakarian anyway, but mutual pining?? Sexually charged pining?? LOVE CONFESSIONS?? Good shit

M/F

Change of Command, Garrus/Miranda, 3.6K, M

Set during ME2. Epistolary fic, a series of comms transcripts between Garrus and Miranda.

Yes, someone else wanted Lawkarian!! The (verbal) sparring is so much fun, and the format is perfect.

Beauty Like a Raging Flame, f!Shaeed, 6.2K, E

Set during ME2. Shepard gets into a fight in Afterlife, and Zaeed has to go pick her up.

There’s a lot of Shaeed this year! But this one is my favourite. The Zaeed voice is great (appropriately crusty, not too soppy, just the way I like it) and it’s nice seeing him paired off with a Paragon Shep. Plus, Zaeed’s turned on by violence. Smutty perfection

only echoes in the melody now, Kasumi/Keiji’s Greybox, 3.4K, E

Post-ME3. Bittersweet porn with feelings.

God, this one really blew me away. The prose is incredible, and there’s so many little bits that really land how fucked up the greybox concept really is. The ending is great, too. Can’t recommend this enough.

Longing Makes a Thief, Kasumi/Rolan Quarn, 17.7K, E

Kasumi and Rolan run into each other during a job, and realise they’ve met before - sort of.

This was so much fun - bubbly like a glass of champagne. The banter’s great, the smut is great, it’s all so good. Run, don’t walk!

Poly

An Unfortunately Sexy Man, Addison/Kandros/Kesh/Tann, 6.6K, M

MEA. Addison, Kandros and Kesh all have one thing in common: a devastating, inexplicable crush on Director Tann.

I’m not really one for crack, but this is definitely an exception. Genuinely funny, and the Tann voice in particular is incredibly on-point.

[evax3]

Heya! I wanted to ask you… do you have any hope that the books will come out and we’ll finally know the real ending? And what do you think Jon and Dany’s endings will be? I keep on being optimistic we will get the real ending. And all I need for it to be perfect is Dany and Arya and Jon (my three favorites) surviving and being able to find peace and happiness after the hells they all suffered. As much as I want Dany and Jon to be King and Queen, I’ll settle for them living. But what do you think?

Hello my friend, thank you for the ask!! :)

regarding the books, I'm sure we’ll get to know the ending some day, one way or another. Whether they'll ever be published, I have little hope, but never say never. At least I assume that after his death there will be a "GRRM – Unpublished Works" collection or something similar in which we can read chapters from Winds and Dream of Spring as well as many other short stories about our faves. 

As for Dany and Jon’s ending, I highly recommend @hamliet 's meta’s. I love reading all of them but especially the analysis of Dany as a romantic heroine. It tells us so much about what we should expect for her endgame and why (it all makes so much sense!!). 

I assume Dany will set King’s Landing on fire. Not intentionally, but because her father hid the Wildfire under the city and Daenerys will accidentally blow it up with her dragons fighting against f!Aegon. I don't see her killing innocent people as some collateral damage, but I see her fighting her enemies with fire and blood (which imo makes all the difference).

The incident in KL will throw her into a crisis and I think only with Jon's help she’ll get out of it and pick herself up to fight with him against the real enemy aka the Others (I’m sure their decision to form an alliance is one of the last scenes of TWOW and in ADOS they’re already a couple romantically involved with each other). 

So I guess Winds will be about Dany conquering Westeros while Jon is a little lost, has to deal with the aftermath of his mutiny and then later his parental reveal, while A Dream of Spring will be more about their relationship and the Battle for the Dawn. I think Dany will be Azor Ahai and save Westeros with Jon by her side, but no one will thank them for that because of what happened before in KL (and also the general prejudice against their family). And that this is one of the essential elements that make the ending so bittersweet (as George has indicated). 

She and Jon will be the true heroes, the bastard and the exile, but no one is going to see it or give them credit for that.

GRRM describes himself as a romantic writer and romantic literature is shaped by the fact that it focuses more on the inner conflict than the external conflict. So I assume that all 3 (Arya, Dany and Jon - who are also my favorites) are mainly dealing with their identity crises in the following books. What is their purpose in this world? How do people's expectations fit with their own desires and ambitions? By the end of the story, these questions should be answered.

I think Arya is pretty safe, when it comes to staying alive. I'm not quite so sure about Jonerys/Snowstorm. As much as I want it, because of course I wish for a HEA for my favorite ship, I actually don't see the two of them ruling together. I think they'll fall in love and Dany will get pregnant (because them having a family with each other has been hinted at way too much and unlike D&D, George isn't just doing that only as "clickbait"). But my fear is that only one of them will be able to see their child grow up… 

And I'm not even sure what I actually want for their endgame if anything were possible? Probably to pack up their baby, Ghost and the dragons and then emigrate, lol. Maybe to Lys or somewhere warm? But they both have too much of a hero complex to ever pull that off ❤️

[love-toxin]

Ellie. ELLIE! how is it, just like the one person had said in their ask, you always end being into the same stuff im into, so its always perfect timing and your stuff is always feeding us! I must ask, how do you feel about Gale? He has personally grown on to me, but im still iffy on him, with, you know, the goddess thing of him. But he's SO CUTE! I wanna squish his cheeks and call him my stupid lil goober

its bc im feeding on your delicious braincells muahahahaha!!!!!! /evil laughter

HEH but fr........Gale is so puppy boyfriend coded. I love him. The great thing with D&D is that there's so much character development involved that pretty much everybody has qualities that can make me fall deeply, deeply in love 💕 and Gale is no exception!!!! None!!!! He's so sweet and a romantic at heart and gentle--and--and-!! His cheekiness is so underrated imo <3 I love that he can be so goofy and break the tension and each time I've played the introduction I've had to high-five him in his portal bc he just takes it like a champ and it's so funny LOL <3 I haven't delved into his romance too much yet (somehow I've been dodging his wooing attempts LMAO) but he's so earnest I know I'm gonna romance him in my later playthroughs, I simply must.

Also tbh the whole Mystra thing actually intrigues me so much just based off the dialogue I've had with him so far, because ik his relentless flirting is kind of a meme at this point but it hits me so deep in the heart that like. Perhaps he simply loves so deeply and so passionately that he can see so much potential in someone he's attracted to, and he has the sense that he could love a stranger in just as many beautiful ways as he did a goddess. I kind of love how he sees beauty so easily in everything and can't help but be so moved by it that he's got the urge to pursue it. It makes his moments of self-doubt and sadness and insecurity in the weight of his own life so much more bittersweet and tender, he really reads like the tragic hero that he is and the fact that he plays it off with humour is so relatable that it just makes him feel so human. Again, obviously I've barely even delved into his romance as a whole but that's just the vibes I get and <3 I love him sm. He's so loveable and teddy bear boyfriend-shaped. Puppy boy! I love him!

[bookshelfdreams]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

I got tagged by the loveliest @adickaboutspoons - thank you, darling!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?: No. I wasn't supposed to get the first name I have at all, but my mother forgot what she wanted to name me after she gave birth.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: Last week I listened to an audiobook that made me tear up. Full on crying, I don't remember.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?: Luckily for everyone involved, no.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?: None, other than what I was forced to do in gym class. I have always been, and always will be, terrible at sports. I have never found anything I liked.

DO YOU USE SARCASM?: I don't even know what that is.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: idk?? What they look like? Sorry, I don't mean to be obtuse, I just don't know how to answer that. I notice lots of things about people. If what is meant by this question is: "What are things that inform your first impression of a person?" then I guess the answer is that first impressions are often wrong and I try to at least let someone speak before I form an opinion.

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?: Greyish blue.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?: Bittersweet endings, imo. And don't pull an "It was all a dream!!"

ANY TALENTS?: Yes, one: I'm so good at lighting fires. (Campfires and stoves and such! I'm not an arsonist)

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: In a country that no longer exists.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?: Fibre crafts, obviously. I like knitting and spinning best, but I can also crochet, and weave a bit, and do some basic sewing and theoretically, some embroidery, although I almost never do that. Other than that, I bind books sometimes (rarely as it may be, I haven't been feeling that lately), and I like going for hikes.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?: A cat, his name is Edgar.

HOW TALL ARE YOU?: 1.78 or so

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?: History

DREAM JOB?: I actually quite like my job? I kinda almost-accidentally stumbled into it, it wasn't my dream job, but I'm content where I am right now. If I had to start over completely, in a perfect world where money concerns and such don't exist, I think I would have liked to become an actual bookbinder. Or maybe a mortician (though not back when I was actually choosing my profession).

And then I got also tagged by my most beloved @eolewyn1010 - again, thank you x10000!

Last song: Yuve Yuve Yu by The Hu

Favorite colour: Green, purple, muddy earth colours.

Last show: That Netflix docuseries about the FLDS church

Sweet/savory/spicy: Eh, depends.

Relationship status: Old maid.

Last thing I googled: Spiro comp

Current obsession: Not obsessed with anything rn :(

Looking forward to: Finishing the kickass vest I started to knit last night

tagging (no pressure, pick what you want to do or feel free to ignore this, it's all fine, I love you): @awordwasthebeginning @jamdoughnutmagician @little-linda @comfortabletextiles @fearlessinger @khargaotte @invisiblegreendot @9thbutterfly @throwing-roses-into-the-abyss anyone else who wants to do this <3

[itookyoudown]

for the ask game: top 5 justified episodes?

oh lordy this is so hard to choose. i'm not answering this with any thoughtfulness just going with gut instinct.

5: Full Commitment, season 2. this is my guilty pleasure and comfort episode because of how western it feels and how much tim gutterson we get :)

we even get raylan talking to dan!! i just love how all the pieces of the plot and characters come together in this episode. this also sets up and kicks off the finale of Bloody Harlan. really the last three episodes of this season feel like a mini movie to me, they all flow together brilliantly.

4: The Promise, season 6. this isn't my favorite season or even my favorite season finale, but it's one of my favorite episodes because of how bittersweet it is. it was the perfect wrap-up for a perfect show and the final scene is my favorite final scene in any show i've ever watched.

some characters survive, but nobody really wins and i love that. it feels like such a real true to life ending.

3: The Hunt, season 6. the episode that cinched boyd's characterization and showed us two flavors of domesticity horror (raylan and winona with willa's heart murmur reveal and trying to navigate co-parenting along with raylan's lackluster fathering VS boyd's abduction, terrorization, and assault of ava).

this is the most thriller-esque episode of justified to me and truly does verge into lowkey horror at some points. it shocked and numbed me the first time i watched it and the reality didn't really click until the second rewatch and by the third time it truly sunk in.

the fact boyd became the type of man his father and his brother were...utterly devastating and really changed my perspective on his character. and he chose it, he plotted it and organized it in a cold fashion. it's heartbreaking and at first you can't believe it but upon rewatches of the show it revealed to me that yeah...yeah. boyd was always capable of this and it's no surprise this is where he and ava ended up.

outlaw king and queen they never were and never would have been.

this episode is also fascinating because you can see critic response to it as a disturbing time capsule. look at reviews of this episode back when the show was airing...be prepared to be sickened by how often boyd assaulting ava is framed as "making love" or a reunification/rekindling of their relationship 🙃

this episode is always difficult for me to rewatch, but i still love it.

on a lighter note, i also delight in raylan being a fail dad and with city primeval fresh in my mind i love how it really does confirm his work over family priority from the get-go lol.

2: Outlaw, season 4. in general this is a solid af episode of justified in the best season of the show, but it ranks so high in my mind because it's the culmination of Arlo and Rayan's relationship. look, the truth is abuse is so rarely accurately portrayed in media. usually, it's revenge fantasy or feel-good simplification that reduces things down to evil monsters and pure perfect victims. and i get why that happens, i get it, most people find it healing and those stories do need to exist i'm not knocking them.

but justified has a complex and multilayered way of dealing with abusive relationships (they did it with boyd and ava too) that actually digs into how complicated and messy and painful they truly are.

the fact we get to see Raylan grieve Arlo in such an understated but devasting way...holy shit. one of the best moments in the show imo. because it doesn't matter if you hate your parent and they were shitty and abusive. you still loved them. you still love who they were in-between the abuse and maybe you don't grieve the person they were but you grieve what could have been and what you never had with them.

1: Decoy, season 4: all-time best episode of justified and top-tier episode of television everywhere. the episode is really the pinnacle of justified's genre (neo western). e v e r y t h i n g about this episode honors justified's storylines and honors characterization. heart and soul and brain all in one go.

it respects the lawmen and the outlaws in portrayal. the writing is tight, the dialogue is outstanding, and it comes with one of justified's most iconic and thematic shots (the stairwell scene).

[smilesrobotlover]

I’ve read most of the mangas so I think I’m gonna rank them all since nobody asked for it. I haven’t read the tp manga just yet and I’m not including the skyward sword Hyrule hystoria manga for the sake of my sanity (and the mangas that are one story separated into two books are counted as one except for oracle of ages and seasons)

1. Four sword- the characters are so fun and are great to play around with. Shows perfectly how important characters are to a story. They had to give each Link a defining personality different from each other and the way they bounce off each other was just so much fun. Not to mention the dynamic with shadow was interesting and adding a father to Link was also fun to read. And I was fond of this Zelda! A more sweet character but could also roast you if needed. I liked how she fought with her words more than anything else.

2. Oracle of ages- again, great character dynamics and a very interesting story! It wasn’t the damsel in distress trope so it was more refreshing to read than the others. And sir raven is just… a perfect man. Also Impa my beloved

3. Majoras Mask- the way this was written was so beautiful. The weird spookiness from the game was perfectly captured (for this being released without playing the game, that’s impressive) and the story was so… sad yet wonderful. The emphasis on loss and death just kinda makes it somber. And Skull kid’s backstory legitimately makes me want to cry everytime I read it. Poor kid :( the ending was epic too, gosh I loved watching Link put on the FD mask and going ape 💩 cuz of the righteous anger he feels towards majora, and him condemning the Happy mask salesman was also nice. You can tell this Link matured from oot. Also Kafei and Anju were so pure.

4. Oracle of seasons- I really enjoyed the beginning of this! Sometimes the mangas are so short that everything feels incredibly rushed and chaotic but this one was more chill! I mean, we saw Link hang out with the traveling performers for a while, a lot longer than I expected, and it really helped the pacing a lot. I also liked the characters Link hung out with. Ricky, Maple, and the chicken had fun dynamics! Overall, much better pacing than the others.

5. Ocarina of time- this one was pretty great, I loved how Sheik was written, he was the most interesting part of the story imo. I also loved Link, very kind and gentle but sometimes mischievous and just a great guy. Very determined. My only issue is how Zelda was written. I loved her in the beginning wanting to be a normal little girl, but naturally, as any Zelda with an alter ego, she fell short compared to Sheik, who was fantastic. And these stories can’t go 5 seconds without a damsel in distress so. But I liked it! And I liked the side characters! The whole Lon Lon ranch thing was fun too! Also Impa my ABSOLUTE beloved

6. Phantom hourglass- A more simple story but a fun one. Loved Ciela and Linebeck’s dynamic and the style was so fun. Also the ending was better written than the game imo. This is the only licensed Nintendo thing made that didn’t do tetra DIRTY. She was the girlboss she was meant to be, and tho she needed to be saved, she had a much different personality than the other Zelda’s so it felt less redundant. And not to mention, she acted more like a capable captain in the end and it was SO GOOD. I also personally liked that Bellum went after the ocean king, that was a cool scene too see. Shame it ended so quickly. My only issue is not enough Dadbeck 😔

7. Minish cap- this one was pretty fun! But I wasn’t a huuuuge fan of how Link was written. But he was tiny the entire time and it was adorable, and the ending was so bittersweet . Also Minish Vaati was adorable, honestly all the Minish were adorable. There’s just not a lot to say about it tho. Nothing really stuck out to me. Zelda had the same personality as every other Zelda so not much to say about her either.

8. A Link to the Past- not the best story. It’s not a rereadable story and it’s kinda boring. I adore Link’s personality and lbl legend is based after him, but the other characters were more eh. I liked the thief girl a little. But my biggest gripe was Zelda. I feel like Zelda’s in these mangas are all written the same but she’s written differently in a bad way. Apparently she was made more soft for romance but that just made her flat, boring, and also annoying. There were a lot of interesting characteristics to be done with her personality tho, but it wasn’t done. Which is a shame. But I did like the ending. It was very sweet (again, Link is an absolute sweetheart).

[silviakundera]

Once again reviewing less known/unpopular dramas... Ghost Host, Ghost House (2022, Thai BL) delivers what it promises to be in the first episode: supernatural family drama about ghosts, with a side of romance. I have an affection for media that knows what it wants to be and executes that.

Kevin, now an adult and ready for university, arrives in Thailand to visit family he hasn't seen for a decade - as his mother moved them to the USA when he was young. He's a budding video blogger whose gimmick seems to be: cute gay boy who visits haunted houses. Little does he know that the family he's come to stay with are all dead. The loved ones once separated by geography, as a child of immigrants, are now separated from him in a way he is yet to understand. There at the old family home he also runs into Pleum, a local boy with big dreams who is cheerfully navigating through 5 odd jobs and begins to pursue the visiting hot boy with the same dedication. But whose family is also hiding wounds of his own.

"This flower reflects the reality. Pain hasn't gone elsewhere. It's just hidden, so we can move on and live our lives."

Don't come looking for a thriller or scares or ghost hunting. It's not a fast-paced drama, it's about the characters.

It's charmingly earnest in the two young men's fumbling birth of a romance, elements of whimsical humor in Kevin's ghost family navigating death (think Beetlejuice), and occasionally poignant in discussions of mortality, grief, and letting go. The family relationships are given equal weight to the romance.

There wasn't a tonal whiplash for me. The sweet & sexy parts fit alongside the fact that both MLs are surrounded by death and need to come to terms with it. The tone is fluid. In the midst of life, there is death; in the midst of death there is life.

It's not a deeply profound, philosophical exploration of grieving and I don't think that's a failure because it's not trying to be. It's just characters who are haunted, literally and metaphorically, and who find a way to move on during the course of 8 episodes.

The couple really worked for me (until the writers imo fumbled the end). Post high school, figuring themselves out and what they want. Clearly not virgins and very comfortable with their sexuality and queer desire, while being still awkward & uncertain about how to act around a cute boy you like. I appreciated that the couple is quite sweet & soft without neutering them. They are allowed to be age-appropriate horny! They're also allowed to make mistakes & deal poorly with grief in hard moments, and then apologize and be forgiven for it. Two people who met each other in the worst timing & situation for attempting a romance. Though perhaps without the ghosts that united them, they would have lived out their lives mostly on separate continents & never found home together.

The otp like each other right away - it's external factors pulling them apart. Unresolved grief that must be dealt with and the hovering dramatic tension tension that Kevin is Thai diaspora, essentially American, and this was intended to be a temporary visit to see his relatives. He's presumably considering this a 'vacation fling', while it was clear that Pleum was ready to go all-in. A separation was basically baked into the pairing. I was anxious about how this could really work. Spoiler: happy ending, but I did not entirely like how they got there (see cut).

I would be spoiling too much to discuss in detail, but the family elements are lovely. Bittersweetness in the incomplete time we get with our loved ones. And the subtle tragedy of the opportunities Kevin lost to know his extended family; the taste of home he's been missing as his mother moved on with a new american husband.

Only 2 distracting missteps in the drama. SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING.

A. Kevin is a dual citizen who's mostly lived in America all his life. His English should be perfect but it very much isn't. But tbh to a thai viewer it likely isn't noticeable and this is a thai production; that's the intended audience, not me. So I just used my imagination. It doesn't come up frequently.

B. The requisite separation trope in the last episode is always super annoying to me in kdramas & thai dramas, because it's such a cliche. At least in this case it was foreshadowed several times since early on that Kevin was NOT ready for commitment while Pleum was. (he clearly gets uncomfortable & ducks the question repeatedly when people bring up them being boyfriends. He's not a blushing maiden, this was reluctance to commit to staying in Thailand & settling down with Pleum, despite the connection, compatibility, and everything they went thru together) And it makes sense that he was too young to be brave enough to take such a leap and hadn't made peace with his 1st love Jake's death. So for once, the separation 100% made sense and I wasn't even upset by that part! My issue was how they executed the rest. Frankly, I disagree with the writing choices. I guess they were going with the idea that Kevin was resigned to having missed out. He feels like it's too late. But I hated that they had Pleum waiting for years for Kevin to be ready and it just didn't feel certain to me that they would have reunited except by chance. Like, I wanted Kevin to choose to go to him, full-stop. Not accidentally run into him, sorry that's bullshit to me. Yes, Kevin kept a momento of their time together. Yes, he obviously wasn't over Pleum. But to me it also felt like he was just prepared to move on and never see him again. No me gusta.

There's a romantic sensual reuniting scene and Pleum seems confident that he's not going to let his man go anywhere again. And Kevin is ready to say goodbye to the memory of his 1st love and admit Pleum is the one for him. I did buy-in on the idea that they experienced something truly formative together that no one else would understand. In the end, I did feel like Kevin would make a home with him now. So it's definitely a happy ending. But.. It really annoys me because without this misstep, if they had executed the separate & unite differently, this would be a fav drama I'd rec to everyone.