Heartwarming / Lily's Poke-Madhouse

Lily really has a preference for softer, more wholesome stories, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Madhouse.

General

• Just how protective Lily's pokemon are of her at the start of the comic. After she finally got out of a toxic relationship, they aren't going to let their trainer get hurt like that again.
• Any time Lily and G hug, cuddle or kiss each other's cheek. It's always drawn in such a gentle, loving way that it usually ends up the focal point of whatever comic it happens in. In Couch this ends up being the last panel, and several arcs have ended with the two embracing each other.
• The sheer, unbridled joy that Cala, and later Bonnie, bring to the household. Of particular note is Mikaila, who always treats the girls affectionately, and dotes on them constantly.

Violate Arc

• Lily and Gardevoir sharing cider in Cider as they remark on the time they've spent together.
• During Violate, Lily remembers that a closed bond could be potentially fatal for G and rushes out to check on her, completely forgetting her anger.
• Deception, where Lily confesses that if G had approached her asking to form a mating bond, that she would have agreed because she didn't want to lose her best friend.
• When G explains to Butterfree that she hurt Lily, Butterfree compares it to the time she bit Lily's hand trying to eat a muffin. The following dialogue serves as a reminder of just how wholesome Butterfree's insight can be.

G: No, like... five million times worse than that, Butterfree.

Butterfree: Wow... that's a lot of muffins.

• During Confessions, after being warned that her actions are coming dangerously close to her abusive ex-fiance, Lily goes to apologize to G. Seemingly unreceptive, Lily leaves, prompting G to grab her hand and ask if she hates her. Lily smiles and says she could never hate her and hugs her.
• After all the effort she put in to settle Lily and G's dispute, Lily asks Mikaila to move in with her, to which Mikaila practically screams her acceptance.
  • What's extra sweet is that before this, Lily's main reason for not having Mikaila move in with her was that G didn't like her. By doing the right thing and standing up for G, she managed to actually gain G's support. While G is still her usual snarky self to Mikaila even after this, it's nice to see her opening up to and trusting someone else.
• Shame. G confesses to Lily that she's fallen in love with her, and Lily reassures her that she's done nothing wrong and needs to stop hating herself for something other people did to her. She then hugs G, who melts into the hug. After all the stress of this story arc, seeing them hug it out so sincerely is a good payoff.

Ralts Arc

• During Rescue, Cala's face lights up upon tasting sweets for the first time and she jumps into Lily's arms.
• Lily's insistence on spoiling Cala rotten.

  G: "You're gonna spoil that thing, you know."

  Lily: "Good! She baby!"

• Cala can't sleep in a bed properly sized for her. So what does she do? Sneak into Lily's bed and snuggles up with her, to which Lily allows.
• G's concerned face as she overhears Lily's conversation with Ginger about her desire to have a baby, but that she can't.
• When Lily and G leave on their vacation, Cala is seen crying and reaching out for her from Mikaila's arms. She doesn't want Mommy to leave.
• When Cala is curled up on the couch, it's Butterfree of all people to cheer her up, bringing her a bowl of sweet berries for a snack.
• Salazzle curled up around Cala to protect her from the cold. Probably the cutest depiction of Salazzle ever seen.
• When Cala tries to protect Sam from bullies. She fails and gets kicked over, but she tried at least.
  • Also G going into Surrender to Madness, a specialized ability that sees her become an instinct-driven wraith, to protect Cala and Sam.
• Cala and Sam's happy faces upon being told that Sam can keep her.
• Cala seemingly doesn't regard Lily at all after the news she's going home with Sam, until she senses her distress. She turns around and happily demands uppies so she can give Lily a goodbye hug.
• Long after the Ralts arc has concluded, who should appear but Sam and Cala, playing with Bonnie in the sandbox. It's good to see the two still happy and bonded!

Bonnie Arc

• G suggesting that she leave so Lily can adopt a child or keep Cala. The fact that she would be willing to do that and never see her best friend again so that Lily can have something she wants is a major leap forward for her. Up until this point, G had been criticized as only caring about herself and what she wants (namely: having Lily to herself).
  • Related to the above, Lily becoming immediately distressed at this idea and insisting that she doesn't want to have to have a baby if it means G has to go.

Lily: I don't want you to leave just so I can have a baby! I wouldn't trade you for anything! You're the only family I have, you mean everything to me!"

• She also reveals that if she were to have a baby, she'd want G to be Godmother.

• G eventually comes up with another plan: hijack a cloning experiment to engineer a child from Lily's and G's own DNA. G never once gives any concern to how this might affect herself, despite playing up her hesitation to hide her involvement. G has grown enough to put her own discomfort aside for Lily's sake, and does so without a second thought.
  • Of course, Lily's own reaction to all of this deserves to be highlighted. While the reveal of Bonnie is met with a degree of dismay by the scientists (and even G is momentarily shocked by Bonnie's appearance), Lily immediately falls in love with the "cryptid child" and shortly adopts her.
• After her involvement is exposed, G reveals to Lily that she created Bonnie because the way Lily was slipping into depression after giving up Cala was so similar to her last breakup that she couldn't bear to see her best friend be that hopeless and miserable again. As she explains: She saw an opportunity, she took it, and she isn't sorry. She doesn't even care if people talk, she just wants her friend to be happy. That G was so determined to give Lily something she always wanted that she was willing to risk mockery and derision for it, which she is notoriously averse to, shows how much G loves her and how important her happiness is to her.
  • Lily is so moved and grateful that she actually kisses her for it!

Honesty Arc

• The leadup to the main story for the arc features a lot of moments of G being flustered when Lily shows her affection, and at one point reaching out for her when she pulls away from a hug. As much as it's been made clear that Lily and G being a couple is a terrible idea, the sincerity with which G's feelings are displayed makes you feel for her.
• Though clearly being the right decision, it is very apparent that Lily doesn't like having to break G's heart the way she does at the Arc's climax. She apologizes to G when she tells her that her answer is no.
• When Bonnie's upset in the corner after Lily rejects G, Mikaila immediately comes to her and tries to help her out, even giving the poor kid a hug. While Bonnie might not see Mikaila as her mother just yet, it's very clear that Mikaila loves Bonnie like her own.
• When 2-82's G says that her giving Lily the silent treatment is just as manipulative given Lily's past trauma, G panics and rushes out to tackle her into a hug. She assures her that while she is mad, she just needs time to process the rejection and isn't trying to manipulate her with silence.
  • Of note is how quickly our universe's Lily jumps to Mikaila's defense when 2-82's Lily badmouths her.

Marah Arc

• From the moment she shows up on screen, Marah is immediately friendly and close with everyone, a welcome delight after Dr. Ponytail, 2-82's Lily and 2-82's G.
• As soon as Lily sees how infatuated G is with Marah, she decides that G deserves to be happy, and decides to break the law for G. When Mikaila calls Lily out on trying to play matchmaker, Lily assures her that she's not going to force anything, and Mikaila agrees to it. Just seeing the family open up to another person showcases both the growth that the characters have gone through and the fact that they're in a stable enough position to bring another member in after all the drama that's gone on in the past few weeks.
• When Marah asks about Bonnie, G (for the first time) acknowledges Bonnie as her family, specifically calling Bonnie her goddaughter. The sheer unbridled joy on Bonnie's face is damn near contagious.
• Marah helping Lily make pancakes for the family, and flirting with an ecstatic G.
• When G realizes that she can't form a mating bond with Marah, she goes to Lily for help. G starts by gushing about how much she adores Marah, and when she worries that Marah won't like her when she realizes that she can't form a mating bond with her, Lily reminds her that she and Mikaila have a healthy and loving relationship without the bond. Lily encourages G and reassures her friend about Marah still liking her, and says something to G that "everyone told [her] back in high school."
  Lily: Go out there and kiss that damn Gardevoir! You know you want to!
  G: Pffft! Hahaha, you dork!

Minor Arcs

• While the Aftershock Arc starts off in a very disturbing way, the fact that G immediately senses the danger Lily is in shows how in-tune she is with her trainer, and the way she attacks Lily's attacker with admirable violent gusto shows just how far she's willing to go for Lily. Later on G tends to Lily with uncharacteristic gentleness, and only worries about how her friend is feeling.
  • Doubles with Tear Jerker, as Lily wrote this arc after her own sexual assault, as she has stated that she wished someone had been able to do that in real life.
  • Later on, we see G comforting Lily after she was dumped by her ex-fiance, and adamantly refuses to let Lily blame herself for what happened. Seeing G pull her friend back in and comfort her after such a devastating Tear Jerker moment just goes to show that for all her issues, G really loves Lily.
• The Mega Evolution Arc is this combined with Tear Jerker. After G reveals that she's terrified of being labeled a Clingy Jealous Girl and being seen as just another Gardevoir in love with her trainer, Lily apologizes for how long she's let the taunts and jeers go on, and resolving to nip anything else like this in the bud. For anyone else who's afraid of being affectionate with those they're close to out of fear of the relationship being labeled romantic, the arc is reassuring.
• The Blizzard Arc is full of soft moments, including G curling up in Lily's jacket, Butterfree offering G the stroganoff, and Mikaila learning more about the bond between G and Lily.
• Just getting to see Lily and G enjoy themselves in the Vacation Arc. After everything they've been through, the two of them deserve a chance to sit back and relax.
• Lilligant getting to be safe and well-cared for by Lily after she was clearly abused. The Tears of Joy she sheds after realizing that she's safe are just as cute as her Crush Blush upon seeing all the pretty lady pokemon on the Compound.
• The Crossroads arc has Mikaila reassuring Lily that isn't in the wrong for dreaming about kissing G, Lily being adamant that she doesn't want to worry G about this, and the two making up afterwards. It's nice to see them just forgive each other.

One-off Comics/Other

• Early on, Lily tries to give G a Gardevoirite, but G refuses and says that she doesn't need it. While the reveal of Surrender to Madness came far after this comic, the fact that G's love for her trainer is enough to give her strength equivalent to Mega Evolution says volumes about how close these two are, even before all the drama starts.
  • After G refuses the Gardevoirite, Lily starts wearing it constantly, only ever taking it off after G reveals the mating bond, and putting it back on after the issue is finally resolved.
• After Lily realizes that G is claustrophobic and terrified of going back in her Pokeball, she smashes it underfoot and hugs her friend. The only reason she ever puts G back in a Pokeball is that it's illegal for endangered species to not be registered to a ball.
• Miranda and Mikaila stopping by to visit Lily. It's nice to see that they still love their friend.
• Even as a little girl◊, Lily refused to treat G (then a Ralts) as anything other than her best friend, both preventing her from being treated as disposable and protecting her from someone in her house who would have tried unsavory things with G after she evolved.
• Technically a three-parter, but Butterfree giving G a heart scale. While their Ship Tease was eventually nipped in the bud, it's still sweet to see Butterfree go to all the effort to give G something nice, it's still sweet to see Butterfree go to all the effort to give G something nice, especially considering all the heartbreak G experiences later.
• G comforting Lily after Miranda leaves.
• When Lily was sick, G tried to make eggs for her and somehow ended up ruining four skillets.
• Lily taking care of G when she was sick with the flu.
• After Butterfree faints in battle, G becomes furious and ends up pinning Lily to the ground, growling that Butterfree isn't to be used in battles anymore. While their Ship Tease does eventually get nipped, it's nice to see G protective of the little bug.
• The flashback to when G evolved, protecting Lily from her homophobic parents. Lily immediately apologizes to G, since her evolution should be a cause for celebration, but when Lily's parents start banging on the door she threatens them with all her newfound powers.
• Bonnie and Butterfree playing Jenga together, even if their way of playing it is a bit... unconventional.
• One post was released that just showed G being ecstatic to get her hair brushed. With how stressed and angry she can get sometimes, it's nice to see G just being happy.
• When Bonnie gets her head stuck in a Tempting Cookie Jar and calls for help, Lily and Mikaila rush in to help her, with Lily even sliding in out of worry. Then, when Bonnie explains that she only called for help because she was out of cookies, Mikaila gives an affectionate smile at her antics.
• When Lily goes to visit Mikaila's parents (who have been hounding her about wanting grandchildren), she brings along Bonnie and G. The heartwarming is two-fold: first, that Mikaila has Bonnie resting on her head and considers her a daughter, and second, that as strange as G and Bonnie are acting (the former is letting off tentacles of death, and the latter is using a prehensile tongue to eat a slice of pizza), Mikaila's parents are still happy to have them over.
  • A follow-up comic shows Mikaila, Lily, and G sharing a bed while at Mikaila's parents' house. The sheer domesticity of the scene, with Mikaila and G both clinging to Lily in their sleep and Lily peeking a tired eye at her fiance, shows just how far they've come.
  • Later on, the group takes a walk down by the shore, with Bonnie wearing a shark fin on her head while Lily carries her on her shoulders. G, meanwhile, is busy thinking about food.
• While on a walk with Lily, Bonnie asks about Halloween decorations, and Lily explains the holiday to her. Bonnie then says that this might be a problem because she doesn't know how to be scary. The gentle and motherly way that Lily acts with Bonnie◊ is a healthy dose of softness.
• After Bonnie turns the house into cake, she explains that she did it so that "you could have a house you could eat". She's told to fix it by the time Lily gets back from the store. What was Lily going to the store for? To get a gingerbread house kit, so she could have a miniature house she could eat.
• Lily's proposal to Mikaila. Both women are overjoyed to have each other in their lives, Marah and Bonnie are ecstatic for them, and even G can't help but smile at it, despite the clear and obvious indicator that she's upset by it due to her horn turning red.

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