Maybe this is more of a personal post, but I really appreciate Xie Lian's characterisation and his character arc because of his humanity. He's grown up being seen as special and different, and he really was special and different, and yet is shown at his lowest, falling all the way down from his position to rockbottom and he STILL makes it out alive. Not even alive by choice, but he makes it out nonetheless. And everyday he has to make the choice to see the good in humanity, after having been exposed to the worst human responses and knowing the extent of the damage he and others can do under certain circumstances. Even when he seemed perfect, he never was, and when he seemed despicable, he wasn't that either. He's jaded but not inconsiderate, angry but not vengeful or brash, guilty but slowly learning to love himself. He has the potential to be the most fearsome calamity or the most powerful god, but he decides to spend his time in a little shrine he built himself with his ghost king boyfriend. He can be cold, he can be cunning, he can be naive, he can be reckless, he can be clumsy and he can be stubborn. He can have so many flaws that may go under the radar, so many virtues that go unappreciated by the people around him. He can be the kindest or most scary person you would ever meet, and the only thing stopping him from being the latter is his will to choose to be kind. He is complicated, like a walking oxymoron. And he is traumatised, and he is repressed, and he is trying- he is still trying after everything. He is one of the most human characters I have read despite being an immortal, and gives you the hope that in the face of everything in all its complexity, our choices matter and we as people matter too, no matter how awful our position may be. Maybe the compassion of even 1 other person we meet could be the thing that saves us after all, and maybe no matter what, we're never too far gone.
something something the reason why cartman is so obsessed, so infatuated with kyle (even if he doesn’t realize it) is because kyle matches him as an equal. this is portrayed quite well in “smug alert” when cartman gets increasingly frustrated with butters, because butters just goes along with him. butters is weak willed and accepts - even agrees - with the taunts cartman throws his way. cartman wants a challenge, he wants someone who will bite back, so to speak. i feel like that may have been why he grew disinterested in heidi so quickly, because she wanted to change and improve eric through genuine kindness, which does not work on him; for eric to realize his faults, he needs a heavier hand, which kyle never fails to deliver.
I know that cc!Etoiles probably didn't think this through and just wanted to keep looking cool even in purgatory but...
The fact that q!Etoiles' code scar is NOT disappearing despite being separated from the shield for a whole week could mean that it is permanent now!
Because like, we know how it looks like when it's separated from the shield. We saw that it started to heal the day after q!Etoiles lost his shield. And it immediately came back when he got it back the next day.
Well that’s alright if you’re not planning to write part 2 but I really wanted to see the jealous Az when some guy from their class tries to flirt with her as others don’t know about their relationship 🙈🙈❤️❤️
You mean, like:
Az watches Gwyn with an intent focus as she talks to another man in their class.
He moves to sit in the seat behind her—his normal spot, even though they're now dating.
Gwyn leans back almost imperceptibly, as if sensing his presence.
And then: "She has a boyfriend, asshole."
Gwyn turns around, annoyed. (The other guy leaves). "Seriously, Az?! I can't have one conversation with another man?"
"Not when he's obviously flirting with you."
Gwyn shakes her head. "He wasn't."
"Believe me, Gwyneth, he was."
She starts to protest, but he leans forward, lips almost—almost—brushing her ear. She should hear the rustling papers and the sounds of their classmates sitting down, but all she hears is his impossibly low voice.
"The way he was looking at you... that was definitely flirting. And I thought we'd established that l'm the only one who gets to look at you like that."
Me: Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this old twin size mattress could have been from Nigel's bed when he was a kid? It just has that kid's bed quality to it, and would explain why it was relegated to the basement when he got too big and heavy for such a cheap, thin mattress. It's too shitty for a guest room.
Completely irrelevant, other than in my head where somehow it feels significant that this is what he uses to cover the secret entrance to his hideout. I'm just over here muttering in the corner: "this meaaaans something..." I'll parse it out eventually.
You're exactly where you need to be right now, so please, huddle by the fire and doze off. No matter how young you are, you've still been living for years. Exhausting, isn't it?