#I’m not joking like endgame spoilers

[hyperions-light]

hi I thought about Davrin for two seconds again and I dissolved into an inconsolable puddle of slime

Like… he thought he was going to die! He was expecting to die, he wanted to die defending people! He was racing towards the end of his life in a glorious shower of blood and heroism !! But his story is about LIVING

It’s about Assan ! It’s about the idea that you could be more than your nature or what you’re good at, that you could make a different path for yourself. That you don’t have to be what everyone expects of you, or do the thing the world says is your destiny

It’s about the flowers in Lavendel! He’s blighted too, he’s dying, too! But if you’re not dead you’re still alive. He’s still alive and life will grow from him

He will raise Assan, he will nurture his brothers and sisters, his legacy will be more than his death

I can’t stand to sacrifice him, I can’t do it, even though it hurts the other way, too. Because he asks Rook what he’s going to do if he makes it, if he lives

and he has to find out

War, Peace, Death

And Life, too.

[fanfoolishness]

It’s both insanely satisfying and deeply horrifying to play with Cal’s Dark Side power 😭😭😭

And somehow the most painful thing was I yelled at BD for a stim on Nova Garon just after giving in to the Dark Side, and Cal’s voice was a demand, it was cold and absolutely devoid of fondness and my heart just broke

(I don’t know if that was intentional or I just happened to make that up but that’s what I heard dammit and it was deliciously painful)

[fluoneia]

arcane 2 new episode spoilers

Oh my LORD I have so much to say. Like WHAT THE FUCK WAS ACT TWO.

SO MYCH HAPPENED. Vander is alive, Viktor is dead(?), CAITVI IS BACK, CAITLYNS DATING MADDIE???? Powder is slowly coming back, MEL’s STORY was INSANE, Jayce is crashing out, where the FUCK is ekko? AND WE GOT TO SEE VI AND POWDERS CHILDHOOD! As well as her mom!!!!

I LOVE this new act. But I also hate it. Because what the fuck????

Like with CAITVI bro. I was so angry at the ending of act one, thinking everything was lost, but it just goes to show just how deep Caitlyn and vi’s affection is. Despite Caitlyn being in a relationship with maddie, her feelings will NEVER go away for Vi. As soon as she saw her, Caitlyn switched sides like a fucking light switch. I’m sorry, but they’re literally endgame. Maddie and Caitlyn was nothing but a rebound. I don’t really see them as a couple moving on, and I NEVER saw them as a couple in the first place!!’ Like come on, the writers were just fucking with us.

Though, I am excited to see more of it. The reaction of maddie when she sees Caitlyn and vi working together again, how it’ll all play out.

And also, family reunion???? I damn cried bro. Both those girls deserve nothing less then a family. All they wanted was their family back, to love eachother again, and they finally got it. But it was ripped away from them the second they thought they found peace, harmony, and love.

When will my babies be able to take a GODDAMN BREATH

Also. DID ISHA FUCKING DIE??? LIKE WHATS UP WITH THAT

and where is ekko. WHERE IS HE. SHOW ME EKKO

I’m also sick and tired of people saying CAITVI Jayce and viktor crashed out because of a failed relationship.

Viktor became fucking arcane Jesus and got in touch with the arcane, discovering things he couldn’t imagine. That had nothing to do with Jayce. Jayce was crashing out because his soul was struggling between sanity while being in touch with the rune.

Caitlyn was grieving her mother and was clouded by the need for revenge and anger. In her mind, at the time, vi was holding her back.

Vi was already a mess. Crazy, murderer sister, brothers dead, TWO fathers dead, mother dead, spent four years getting beaten up in prison, and THEN she lost Caitlyn. Her crashing out and losing it wasn’t the result of just a failed relationship, but years of packed on trauma she never got to experience. It all fell on her at once. Caitlyn had a huge factor to this, yes, as it was her breaking point. I get it. She said— “everyone in my life has changed, promise me you won’t change” and CAITLYN FUCKING CHANGES and abandons her. So yeah, it probably did do a lot. BUT that wasn’t the only reason

I get it’s a joke but like… PLEAZD!!’ I’m going insane

[looney-mooney]

Spoilers for the finale of Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish under the cut cuz I need to RANT about this okay???

Just watched the season finale of FOP a new wish and uhhh. Why does it Suck??? Like for real, WHY does it SUCK???

I’m. They did my boy Peri DIRTY, first of all. Seriously, WHY was there SO MUCH gross-out humor with him? SECOND of all, they didn’t even BRING UP the fact that if Peri dies, so does Irep. Like, that wasn’t even a THING that was MENTIONED. THIRD of all, they really just DID NOT flesh out the character interactions to the same level that we’ve been getting throughout the rest of the show? Like, at ALL???

Also, I’m. Okay. Dev and Irep’s interactions in Irep’s introduction episode were SO FUN, but in this special their chemistry is fucking NOTHING. Why does Irep get along better with Dale Dimmadome??? It would be so, SO MUCH MORE FUN if Irep hated Dale’s fucking GUTS. If he saw Vicky in him. I was excited for this special SPECIALLY BECAUSE Dev and Irep were so much fun to watch the first time around, but this one just FLOPPED.

FOURTH OF ALL, DEV DOESN’T GET TO REMEMBER ANYTHING? WHAT??? BUT HE WAS THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF THE SERIES??? WHAT’S PERI GONNA DO NOW, BE A DENTIST??? I THOUGHT HE CARED ABOUT HIS KID! LIKE FOR REAL!!! THE MOMENT WHEN HE SAID HE CARED ABOUT DEV WAS THE ONLY REAL GOOD MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE FINALE, AND THEY BASICALLY JUST THREW IT AWAY WITH THE ENDGAME!!!

God. Like, I get Dev did something wrong. The narrative wants to punish him, he’ll probably find out somehow later down the line because they can’t just throw him away like that. I GET IT. But like. Okay. Okay.

Here’s how I would fix this.

It’s so fucking easy to do, too. Have Dev wish fairy world back to normal, so that Peri doesn’t die from magical backup. It doesn’t make sense for Wanda to have to be the one to do it, because she’s only not had access to magic for like a DAY, ON TOP OF having granted a BUTTLOAD of wishes JUST THAT MORNING, vs Peri who hasn’t been granting wishes for Dev for a WHILE, Who is VISIBLY DYING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE EPISODE BECAUSE DEV DOESN’T MAKE WISHES.

THEN, when HAZEL gets to make her rule free wish, have her wish Dev gets to keep Peri anyway. Have her wish for ALL the people who saved Fairyworld to get to remember forever, Dev included, even though he was the one who -

Wait. WAIT. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE SO MUCH MORE FUN???

If Anti-Cosmo and Dale took over the takeover and overthrew their sons. Like, not even maliciously, just in a “we know better than you” sort of way. But then Irep started having Peri’s magical backup affect HIM, too, and Anti-Cosmo dismissed it, thinking the takeover was more important.

Dev’s still mad at Peri, but he DOES care about Irep, so he agrees to reverse the damage so he can make a wish, which would save Peri and therefore also Irep. I would also like it if Peri’s magical backup manifested in more,,, visually subtle ways. Fainting spells, occasional vomiting, loopiness, confetti coming out of orifices, the OCCASIONAL bloating, but treated more like a chronic illness than. Whatever the fuck they actually did in the show. This would set the stakes higher by making it easier for the audience to actually take the danger to Peri’s life seriously. Instead of, you know. Treating Peri dying like a JOKE.

Then Dev would have to work together with Irep, Peri, Hazel, Cosmo and Wanda (maybe even Anti-Wanda, too, since I don’t think she wants her son to die, though I think if she does join it’d be at the last minute) to fix everything. And Hazel could still recruit her friends, but it would have a much tighter focus on this new core squad, and a lot more focus on character-oriented espionage than “rule of cool”ing it. Maybe even have a nod to the fact that Dev and Winn were friends once, too? (Can I get some nuance, can I PLEASE get some nuance???)

I don’t think we actually need to involve earth that much, either. Don’t replace fairies with anti-fairies, just take away fairy magic, introduce the “not using magic is life-threatening to fairies” aspect, with Peri as our main example, and that’s a really good threat on its own.

Then the ENDGAME leading to season 2 could be “Peri and Irep are BOTH Dev’s fairy godparents now, but now Irep has to follow Da Rules the same way any legitimate fairy godparent would. Dev still doesn’t think of himself as being friends with Hazel right now, but he’s happy to lord over the fact that he has two fairies now over her. The show now has room to play in a space where there are limits to the power of the antagonists, and the protagonists only get to be happy because they were able to break da rules in the first place, and now we have to live with that.” A pleasant symmetry that lays down the groundwork for some Actual Narrative Themes, instead of… whatever mess that was.

I mean, god, I’m not even sure I want them to have a season 2. Like. Jesus, the version of this show and its characters that I built up in my head was so much better than the actual show itself turned out to be. And there’s something really sad in that, you know? Like, I loved this show, and I thought it was building up to something really fun and interesting. But it just. God. It fumbled the landing of this first season so hard.

I’m probably still gonna make, like, an illustrated video essay about my version of this finale like a dude bro posting their fanfic to YouTube and calling it a rewrite, but oh my GOD it was BAD and I thought it was gonna be SO GOOD and it WASN’T and AGHHHHHH. I wanna FIX IT.

(What this whole thing really taught me though, is that I should really be focusing more on making my own stuff. I can’t control how a big studio treats the story I want to see, but I CAN control how I write my OWN stories. I’m gonna let the disappointment fuel me to do better)

Ahem. Anyway, thank you for letting me rant, I really fucking needed it after that.

[theink-stainedfolk]

✨☆ Rafayel Oliveri ☆✨

Should write a book~☆

Look at my baby go:

Officer: “Do you think this is funny, Mr. Oliveri?”

Rafayel: “Hilarious, actually. I mean, here we are, playing Clue in real life. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t me in the bar with the candlestick.”

Carmine: “Why do you always have to make everything so difficult?”

Rafayel: “Because if I made it easy, you’d get bored and leave. Can’t have that now, can I?”

Random officer: “You think your last name makes you untouchable?”

Rafayel: “No, but it does get me better wine. Shall I pour you a glass?”

Carmine: “You’re unbelievable.”

Rafayel: “And yet, here you are, Detective. Believing in me despite yourself. Fascinating.”

Officer: “Stop smiling. You’re under arrest.”

Rafayel: “Smiling is my natural defense mechanism. Would you prefer I cry?”

Carmine: “Do you ever take anything seriously?”

Rafayel: “Of course. Breakfast. Nothing ruins a day like soggy toast.”

Officer: “How can you sit there drinking juice like nothing happened?”

Rafayel: “Would you prefer I pace dramatically? Or perhaps swoon? I’d hate to disappoint.”

Carmine: “Do you even care about what happens to you?”

Rafayel: “Not particularly, but I do care about what happens to you. See the conundrum?”

Officer: “You’re the most insufferable suspect I’ve ever met.”

Rafayel: “You should meet my uncle. He once argued with a priest about the existence of gravity.”

Carmine: “What’s your endgame, Rafayel?”

Rafayel: “Endgame? My dear Detective, I’m just trying to survive the first act.”

Officer: “Are you mocking us?”

Rafayel: “Oh, no. This is me respecting you. My mocking is far more theatrical.”

Carmine: “Why do you keep provoking them?”

Rafayel: “Because it’s fun watching them try to outwit me. Spoiler: they can’t.”

Officer: “Why don’t you cooperate for once?”

Rafayel: “Where’s the fun in that? I like watching you sweat. It’s very… cinematic.”

Carmine: “You’re impossible.”

Rafayel: “And yet, here I am. Impossible and charming. A rare combination.”

Officer: “Do you ever shut up?”

Rafayel: “Rarely. And only if there’s chocolate involved. Got any?”

Carmine: “You think this is all a joke, don’t you?”

Rafayel: “Not all of it. Just the parts where they think they can intimidate me. Adorable, really.”

Officer: “You have no respect for authority.”

Rafayel: “I respect Carmine. The rest of you? Well, you’re not him, are you?”

Carmine: “Why are you doing this?”

Rafayel: “Because you’re watching, Detective. And I like being the center of your attention.”

Officer: “This isn’t a game, Oliveri.”

Rafayel: “Then someone should tell the scriptwriter. Because this plot is getting wild.”

Carmine: “You’re insane.”

Rafayel: “And yet, you can’t look away. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

---

My ♡s: @paeliae-occasionally @willtheweaver @drchenquill @wyked-ao3 @the-inkwell-variable @corinneglass @seastarblue @keeping-writing-frosty @oliolioxenfreewrites @vesanal

[psychopersonified]

****SPOILERS SEASON FINALE*****

🇦🇺 walk among you….. so yes we get it early if you don’t know by now.

The fucking FEELS.

Revelations, clarifications, self discovery.

One thread gets tied off, another picked up.

Daniel casually lobbing 💣 into vampire marriages. Poking holes into the story that fans have been asking too. Daniel being even more insufferable… at the end.

Sam Barclay a DJ - with a decorative helmet? Daft Punk? 😄

Armand? What’s your next move??

A few funny moments peppered throughout.

Louis looking hella FINE in modern day. Warm light makes his eyes pop. Bittersweet homecoming in multiple ways. Seeing how his NOLA life is reduced to a footnote for tourists. The way he can walk into a luxury hotel now and the white staff treats him like any other patron - the respect he so craved in the past. I’m sure there will be more commentary around this in the next few weeks.

Lestat serving dirty rockstar vibes, funny enough, he’s serving a much better looking Steve Tyler 😁. The ‘plank’, I have jokes for this later (anyone remember Ed, Edd and Eddy?)

THE REUNION…. OMFG…. Decades of grief finally getting processed together. This one is poignant. Firstly Louis coming to terms with his own choices.

Secondly Claudia. You can imagine parents when a child is diagnosed with an incurable disease, if they have different opinions around what’s best for the child - treatment, dignity, suffering… neither is completely right or wrong, but It can tear them apart. And when the child eventually succumbs, they are left with nothing but each other and the grief - some marriages survive, some don’t.

COLOURS finally.

And to those worried about Louis fading into the background in S3, don’t worry. Don’t you worry, our boy throws down the gauntlet!

Overall, a great conclusion to the NOLA-PARIS arc. And laying foundations for something BIGGER. *wink wink*. My shipper heart whist not euphoric, is adequately satiated for now, knowing a more satisfying outcome is in the future.

Season 3 possibilities: We’re going into somewhat uncharted territory now I think. Louis is a much stronger character than the book!Louis. He has bits of Lestat’s personality and vice versa. Honestly I love it, it will make their relationship moving forward more on equal footing. It lays down the possibility of a power couple Loustat (one that I’ve been advocating) going into Prince Lestat. Lestat doesn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of governance through his personality alone, an equally charismatic partner to share it with. Maybe it will be Prince Louis & Lestat of the House of LOUSTAT endgame for the show!

[captainwaffles]

Character development of the Guardians

Spoilers ahead

Start obvious with Rocket. He went from this edgy criminal who couldn’t accept himself to someone who let himself heal. He made himself a new family. He stopped letting his past haunt him and came to terms of who he was and where ha came from. He allowed himself to be the good guy. The hero in his own story

Quill found out it was okay to be sad. You can’t run forever. He loved a version of Gamora that died. He had to leave her dead. This Gamora is not his and she’s not ready or willing. He is allowing himself to grieve and grow and that’s amazing.

Gamora oh my god. I don’t remember what she said but it was something along the lines of like I’m not yours or something. She’s not she’s not the males love interest. She doesn’t need a man. She got herself a family. She found a place she finds safe by herself. She’s reconnecting with Nebula too. Amazing

Nebula, my love. She really grew from endgame into this. She made a family and found something she loves, taking care of people. She let herself grow close to Quill and Rocket and everyone else. She started sharing emotions and thoughts.

Mantis. I’m so mad. I feel like since she was introduced they punched up her silliness, especially in this film. She doesn’t understand some things but they made her overly stupid. Which feels wrong. They finally gave her some peace though. They allowed her to speak her mind and say she doesn’t need help and does stuff differently and that’s amazing. I wish they didn’t have to make her just the butt of jokes for it though

Drax. A lot of the same from Mantis. He was not that empty and stupid in GotG 1. As the series continued the more they made him, let’s make him stupid and a laughing stock. At the end we finally got to see his more complex sides with being a father and that grief he still has for her. But he also realized he can be a dad and not a fighter

[carigm]

Today Millie had a fan panel in which she answered that her ideal ending would be Mike and El getting married and Will being happy and confessing to Mike (lol) and ofc the Stranger Things fandom kicked up the old Byler vs Mlvn war once again, regardless of the fact she doesn’t write the show. But I want to break down some points here about things I’ve been noticing today, but also for a while and that I think need to be discussed. Keep reading if you want.

I’ve seen a lot of hostility towards Byler and Bylers on Twitter lately, saying we’re delusional and don’t know what we’re talking about. This always seems to be the go to argument even tho it’s all in the narrative. Today it got really bad after Millie’s comments and even people that were merely disagreeing with her opinions got called everything from delusional to misogynistic.

IF the Duffers suddenly decided to ignore everything they’ve carefully crafted and put into their narrative that doesn’t make anyone delusional, it just makes them terrible writers. Who would be doing a great disservice to all three characters involved in the love triangle.

There’s been an insurgence (on Twitter) of so called “Will stans” who seem to be completely fine with the idea of mlvn being endgame because “Will can just get another boyfriend” Not only is this insulting to what the writers have already established for Will’s character but it’s also a defense and endorsement of the worst kind of lazy/bad writing that could graze our screens.

The Duffers CHOSE to tie Will’s character arc to Mike’s and El’s.

How do you expect them to undo that and create a well fleshed out character that’s deserving of Will, in 8 episodes that we know are not just gonna be dedicated to Will’s supposed love interest, because there’s a shit ton of stuff to resolve?

If this was the route the Duffers were going for, they could’ve clearly given Will a love interest last season (like with Robin) or two seasons ago (like with Dustin) And yet somehow, people think it would be totally okay for Will to get the most meaningless romance of all time as the writers ignore the same story they’ve created.

Another point I’ve been seeing a lot from these people is “Mike won’t come out. Let it go. He’s just a very unlikable character” What does that say about the quality of the writing and content you’re willing to consume then? You’re okay with characters being poorly written? And please someone explain to me how Mike’s actions, especially in S4, make any sense unless he likes Will.

The more people try to simplify this story the more plot holes and inconsistencies it creates.

The funny thing is that a lot of these “Will stans” used to be Bylers themselves but are so deathly afraid it won’t be endgame that they’ve started to use the same rhetoric mlvns use every day to justify what would be atrocious writing.

And this next thing might be controversial but I think it needs to be said.

So many people on Twitter have hit those who disagree with Millie’s opinion today with “y’all are misinterpreting Millie’s words” and let me tell you, no one has. She’s been saying the same stuff for forever and quite frankly she’s never had a coherent thought about Will. Which is fine, at the end of the day that’s not the character she plays. However, I haven’t forgotten how last year (at another panel) she was asked about Byler and said it was just a reflection of Finn and Noah’s friendship and that was what people were seeing…

Whatever the fuck that means, I guess.

Again, I’m not taking her answer today too seriously cause truth be told she’s been saying some version of this since she was around twelve, and has even at times said she was joking about it. If a wedding were actually happening she wouldn’t be able to say it cause I’d literally be a spoiler, even if she doesn’t have the scripts yet or doesn’t know I’m sure there’s things that would be off limits for any actor to say at this point.

But this defense squad that formed today begging for us to not misconstrue her words because “she really cares about Will’s character” is laughable.

Her answers regarding the topic of the love triangle have been anything but nuanced. If she doesn’t want to get into it or address it, that’s fine. It’s her choice.

But of course, mlvn stans are gonna take her answers seriously, as well as those who are now “Will stans” who basically ship mlvn too.

And to me there’s a fundamental flaw regarding the ship wars in this fandom, which these people don’t seem to grasp. At this point, it isn’t so much about “which ship is better” but “which outcome isn’t violently homophobic”

That’s it.

I don’t care how much you ship mlvn, this is the undisputed truth here.

But when your lead actors act like it’s not a big deal, it’s no surprise the fandom doesn’t give a shit.

I can only hope the Duffers were smart enough to see reason and were able to write the only outcome that won’t set television back around 10 years or so.

And hopefully one day, when S5 is out, we can get a more in depth and honest conversation with the actors about all of this.

As for me, I’m gonna lay low and not give much of a fuck until we start getting those Reddit leaks, which were very much accurate for last season. I’ll take a peak at those, and depending on what they look like, I’ll stay around or dip completely.

If you read all of this, thank you.

[ficbrish]

Journey's End

Rating: Explicit 18+ only!

[AO3 Link]

[Kinktober 2023 prompt thanks to @absurdthirst! October 5th - Body Worship (mouth)]

Summary: They've saved the day. What comes next?

Takes place during Act III/End game. There are SPOILERS FOR THE ENDGAME OF BG3 directly under the line!

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

The fireplace in their room crackled and popped. Astarion was gazing into its flames, almost trance-like; soaking up the only taste of sunlight he’d ever have again through their temporary hearth.

Vistri couldn’t stop staring.

A contented sort of grief sunk his eyes, even though they were lifted by the strength of newfound freedom. There was nothing out there now that owned either of them, controlled them, or sat in their heads. The city was still a disaster, a literal war zone, but the defeat of the Netherbrain allowed a previously-unreachable stillness to settle over them. For the first time, there was no axe waiting to fall.

It slowed them down to an unfamiliar tempo, one they couldn't remember ever experiencing. It was surreal. The most common things were extraordinary. Here they were together in a rented bed, no active threats nipping at their heels, relaxing.

Languidly tangled up in each other, they'd fallen into a steady, spacey contemplation. Astarion took in every sparkle of the fire as Vistri drank in every detail of his face.

“I’m always afraid to tell you just how beautiful you are,” she suddenly admitted.

Cuddling and watching the shadows dance over his features made her want to say it so badly that her little confession slipped passed her self-control. Vistri didn't want to bring up his looks in intimate moments like these. Not when it was ingrained in Astarion that they were the limit of his worth.

“Why afraid?” he answered quite rapidly for as far away as he seemed.

Vistri chuckled, giddy from the way his attention snapped directly to her, yet unsure of how to translate her feelings into words, “I just… I never want to hurt you. I don’t want to place value on the things you hate about yourself.”

Astarion cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, “Silly little beloved.” Her compliments gave rather than took. They were treasures, closeness.

He started to laugh and it rang out of his chest, “I thought you were getting tired of me.”

Abruptly, she sat up, “Tired?! Of you?”

“You know how you tend to get bored.” He'd already lost the sun. Why wouldn't the brightness in his life disappear along with it?

“Astarion, you could never bore me.”

“Never say never,” he quipped.

As much as he was joking, Vistri did have a tendency to get bored. There was real apprehension under his wit.

Eager to prove him wrong, she dove into his chest, tightly wrapping every arm and leg she could around his body, “Never! Never! Never! Never! Never!”

He laughed harder at that. It rumbled against her ears, and Vistri’s heart felt like it would burst at the sound.

She wanted to spend every day making him laugh like this. A huge smile spread over her face, “Does this mean I get to dote on you now? Properly? As much as I want to?”

Kissing her, Astarion brought her body flush against his, “Is this what you’ve been holding back from me?”

“Wait," she was legitimately thrown, “Have I been holding back from you?”

Astarion seemed just as confused as she was, “Not entirely... You just have these moments where you stare and look sort of concerned. Like you’re deciding whether or not to tell me something I probably don’t want to hear.”

Vistri broke into relieved hysterics, “Astarion!”

He chuckled at her laughing fit, “What?”

Vistri tried to show him how she felt through the tadpoles before remembering they didn’t have those anymore. He could tell by the look on her face.

“Did you just try to tadpole me?”

She laughed again, “It’s second nature by now.”

“Well, now you’re just going to have to use your words,” he teased with an affectionate smirk, “Like a big girl.”

Vistri’s fingers trailed from his lips to the curls over by his ears. She met his eyes mischievously, holding his gaze like it was tied to hers by a string.

“Yes, Daddy,” she teased. She’d never called him that before, neither as a joke nor in the throes of passion.

Astarion found himself liking the way the word spilled out of her lips. He whimpered appreciatively and grinned, “I think I like that.”

Vistri felt herself blush. She’d said it as part of their play, but something tugged at her when Astarion said he liked it. Her vision blurred for a moment, dizzy with his words. She traced her finger across his lips again to bring herself back to the world, “I forget. Do you know that you’re gorgeous? Or are you completely clueless to the fact?”

He laughed, then adopted an affectation of utter surprise, “Me?! Gorgeous? I don’t believe anyone’s ever called me that before.”

“Never ever?”

“Never ever!”

“Incredible,” Vistri pretended to be utterly offended, “Such an insult—Nay! A deep injustice to beauty itself!”

“Oh, really?” he played along dramatically, “Enlighten me.”

Vistri put her fingertips back on his lips, lightly stroking his silky soft, cool skin. “Your face is like an orchestra,” she purred, flattering him and meaning it, “I hear every sigh from every heart that’s ever beat when I look at your face.”

“If you didn’t steal that one from me, I’ll have to steal it from you,” he smirked.

She pressed her finger to his lips in a “shush” gesture, “I’m not done.”

He pushed it to the side with a kiss, and said, “Oh? Please, do go on.”

Stroking his cheekbones with her thumbs, Vistri continued, “The self I see through your eyes captures me. Whenever I see you, I want to give you everything I have.”

Astarion couldn’t help himself, “That’s how I rob people so easily.”

They laughed. When it grew quiet, Vistri brushed a thumb over his lip, “I’m obsessed with your mouth.”

“It does provide many important services.”

Vistri slowly shook her head, “It doesn’t have to do anything. It just has to exist.”

What she said didn't make a lot of sense on its own, but to them, it meant everything. Astarion closed his eyes to her touch, feeling it dance across his lower lip, then his top one. He parted them slightly, and she let the very tip of her finger fall gently between them. She took it away, replacing it with a kiss. They both moaned as their tongues reached for each other from the soft meeting of their lips.

Her eyes glistened with emotion and her voice trembled, “You just have to be you. And I’ll love you for all my days. All I want… is you.”

“Vistri,” he cried out, kissing her in the most unhinged manner. Actual centuries of continual horror peeled away at the flick of her tongue. Astarion only pulled back to say her name aloud again and punctuated it with another wild kiss. She whimpered; he moaned.

They jumped over each other’s words as their mouths parted, each declaring their love at the same opportunity. “I love you, Astarion,” and, “Gods, I worship you,” clashed together.

Running both hands through his hair, she admitted, “I don’t have any desire to go, you know? I don’t think I ever have had any desire to go. I just want to be by your side.” Her voice was shy but firm.

He brought one hand down to his face and kissed it, “Me too.”

They smiled at each other.

Sadness sat under the joy in their eyes. And neither of them tried to hide it. The joy was there, the fear was there, and the pain was there. All of it. They shared all of it, and neither of them flinched away.

Vistri found herself playing with his lips again, “Can I put my finger in your mouth?”

He kissed it and teased it with his teeth, “You may, my dear.”

She pushed her finger past his lips until she met the tip of his tongue. “My love,” she sighed, “I bet the gods wept when they made your mouth.”

A whine came from his throat, and Vistri felt its vibrations on the tip of her finger. It drove her so crazy she sat up and climbed on him. Groaning as she settled over his hips, feeling him hard underneath her.

Sighing and rocking against him, she purred, “The world is so much prettier with you in it, my love.”

Astarion found and matched her rhythm, bucking in tune with her rolls to increase the feeling just a bit more. He growled under her.

“I want to live my life with you, and I want us to live, Astarion.”

He sat up, pulling her into his lap; into his kiss.

“Then live, we shall.”

Vistri pushed him back down onto the bed. Astarion smirked; that was his move.

She stroked him between his legs over his clothes, “Can I take it out? I’m desperate to touch you.”

He nodded and tossed his head back into the pillow. His back arched as she dipped into his lacings to stroke him skin to skin.

“I love how sensitive you are. Your beautiful mouth has so many different smiles.”

The one that spread over his face now showed his teeth and those darling fangs of his. His brow furrowed above it; his breath groaned its way out of him. Vistri leaned over to kiss his throat. Astarion called her name out and she kissed it again and licked it.

“Your fangs alone deserve their own congregation,” Vistri moaned.

Astarion grabbed her hair and whispered into her ear like it was a threat, “If you want to worship me so terribly, go ahead.”

Vistri was already drowning in him, but needed to stay afloat. She wanted this to be for him. Ever since Astarion lost the sun, Vistri wanted to show him he didn't lose her too, that he was worth the cost of it. She kissed him, licking his fangs up and down. It was a pleasure that felt sharp as pain, and Astarion could feel his bloodlust stir at the stroking of her tongue. Whines poured out of him like torrential rain, and Vistri kissed him between them; locking his lips with hers, stroking them.

Her tongue slipping past his lips to his tongue, to his fangs, to his lip, to his tongue.

They kept kissing as they worked together to pull his trousers down to his knees. It was a clumsy business. Their lips proved to be impossible distractions. Once he was free, Vistri sat upon him and grabbed hold of his cock. It throbbed in her palms and was quite wet at the peeking tip.

“Darling,” she said with wonder, “Your expressions are pure artistry.”

Vistri could see every sensation play over his face, like a sweeping river of ecstasy. She could feel herself throbbing in her core, in tune with his. She ran her hands slowly along his shaft and head until she could taste his impatience in the air. She teased him by pumping just a little faster, then a bit more, and a little faster, until she reached his preferred tempo and kept her stroking steady there.

“I love you, Astarion,” she moaned as she touched him, “Just as you are.”

His breath hitched. He was bone-hard in her palm, seemingly as rigid as it were possible to be, but as she stroked, he only grew more solid. She bit her lip, breathing hard. He was so close. She moaned when she felt him pulse against her fingers. Astarion gasped. Vistri felt wetness spill over her fingers and watched his face convulse with pleasure.

He cried out, gasping her name.

He sounded perfect.

Vistri leaned in for a kiss, tasting the euphoria on his breath before getting up to fetch a towel. She sat next to him on the bed and wiped down his torso with care before wiping down her own hand. Then she peeled the trousers off his calves and helped him remove his doublet.

The whole time, Astarion looked at her with soft eyes. Trust.

“What about you, my love?” he asked as she joined him under the covers.

She affectionately traced the bridge of his nose, “You’re exhausted, love. I want you to rest first.”

He tried to protest, but Vistri held firm, “I’d wait centuries for you if I had to, and lucky for me, I don’t think you could make me wait that long.”

Once Astarion slipped into his trance, Vistri moved about the room. She made sure every curtain was shut tight, and enchanted all the windows hidden behind them with sun-blocking illusions. Then Vistri threw another log on their fire and poked it secure before crawling back into bed. There she wrapped herself around Astarion, and savored the sweet ache of her desire until she fell into Lolth’s nightmares.

“Vistri,” a precious sound eventually called out to her through the dark visions.

She opened her eyes to see Astarion’s captivated and heated with lust. A base need borne from his heart shivered all over his wonderful body.

He kissed all down her chest and back up along her neck. When Vistri cried out, he pried her knees apart and positioned himself between her thighs.

“Do you want me, Vistri?” he asked, his eyes and tone equally as serious.

“Yes,” she begged.

He nestled his cock against her but didn’t push in. She squirmed against him.

“And you want all of me?”

“Entirely,” she promised.

Astarion took her, giving himself. He was as rough with her this morning as she was gentle with him last night. Pounding and slapping into her, to break her over and over. To be taken again and again. Until she was screaming his name, and he was screaming hers too.

By the time they were both spent, the sun was harsh on its high throne in the sky. They held each other’s hands under the sheets and stared at each other for a while before Astarion spoke.

“Can't go out in the sun," he said sadly, "And I've trapped you here with me in darkness."

Vistri nuzzled into him, “You’re wrong this time, Astarion. I could never be trapped as long as I’m with you. You are my freedom and my joy.”

He melted into her smile and squeezed her hand, "Ugh, now you've gone all sappy!"

Falling in love again at the little smile that punctuated his pouting, she squeezed him back, “By your side is exactly where I want to be.”

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

[chargeddeck]

So, I’ve watched Episode 3. Brain dump time. No spoilers but as always my Ask/DMs etc are open if you want to discuss.

Needless to say, my focus will be on Remy and Rogue so brace yourselves.

That intro music will never not be a banger and I know it’s all over the Romy internet but that moment, THAT MOMENT, is my everything. I love them.

Disappointed in the speed at which they went through this particular storyline but will see how it pans out across the series.

I thought Scott’s behaviour was interesting because I can promise you, the moment your child is born is the moment nothing becomes more important to you than them. This didn’t come to the fore until the end of the episode and even then I…I’m not quite sure of how to explain it. Scott made it all about him? The whole thing felt off.

Mr. Sinister is always an fascinating villain to me because of his links to Remy.

I continue to dislike Morph and his personality. The jokes continue to be personal and cruel, which simply do not sit well with me. I’ll also confess that I haven’t read the Exiles comic so I can’t be certain but it’s weird that he seems to gain a power set when he transforms into someone, unlike Mystique. I wonder if this version of Morph has some elements of Mimic in him, or even Sync.

And hello Remy’s other worst enemies; self doubt and insecurity. Maybe I identify with him on more levels than I realise but the more I see of Rogueneto the more it hurts. I just have to trust in home and harbour and that Romy will still be the endgame.

“Gambit can never unsee dat.”

Interesting to see some of the other internal battles people were facing but none resonated quite like Remy’s.

Scott charging up Bishop was weird. The blast were (rightly) concussive force last week but they’re energy now? Sure, Sebastian Shaw I can see using Scott’s blasts to charge but Bishop seemed odd to me.

Jean Grey is not the mutant messiah.

God I’m being really negative so far! I don’t mean to be. I enjoyed this episode!

Positive time then. Loved seeing Rogue’s first thought be for Remy when she returned. And then seeing his whole body language and face light up was perfect.

Essex’s lair? Nothing says mad, immortal British scientist than a converted gothic Cathedral full of bubbling green vats. Superb.

I thought Logan was really good in this too. From him telling Morph to knock it off when teasing Gambit to being there for Jean as well. I hope we get to see him tear it up with Sabretooth at some point as well as showing his natural caring instincts.

Loved the Cathedral fight, thought it was great.

Lastly, 80’s Mohawk Storm is the best Storm.

[fanta2y]

JJK MANGA SPOILERS

I AM UNWELL

choso is dead yall … HE DIED

HE FADED AWAY LIKE PETER PARKER IN ENDGAME FULL BLOWN “i don’t feel so good mr stark” WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO MY BOY

omg yuuji CANT CATCH A BREAK THAT WAS HIS BROTHER FR FR

😞😞

i’m literally going to play in traffic like i can’t TAKE THIS ANYMORE

but on better news

TODO AOI IS BACK BABY

BESTO FRIENDO IS BACK IN BUSINESS

and apparently he can still use his cursed technique !! still waiting for english translations for the leaks but :(((

HAKARI STILL FIGHTING URUAME idk if this just means they are stronger than we thought or hakari is weaker than we thought

EITHER WAY someone gots to give

but nah i’m excited for todo and yuuji to be a dynamic duo once again IF MY BOY TODO GETS CLAPPED BY SUKUNA IM KILLING GEGE AND THEN MYSELF (jokes)

another day…another slay :(

[nighttimeebony]

Reactions to The Last Olympian. Spoilers under the cut. And warning: long-ass post ahead.

EDIT: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Yay, Rachel’s back! I like that Percy is able to have a mortal friend.

Paul is cool.

Look, I love Rachel, but why does there have to be a goddamn love triangle? Percy likes Annabeth, Annabeth likes Percy, you’ve already put the work into making me like them and we all know they’re going to be endgame, so why does there have to be so much fucking romantic drama? Can’t Percy and Rachel just be friends without the weird romantic tension? This whole plot is busy enough on its own without you trying to shove something else in at the last minute just because you’re bored, RICK.

Wow, Percy really doesn’t get to have any downtime, does he? My boy’s really on “save the world o’clock” time at all times.

Yay, Beckendorf! I love you!

OH MY GOD AND HE’S ACTUALLY DATING SILENA???!!!! Oh, that makes me so happy!! I love that my little background crackship is actually canon! And the fact that they were apparently Camp Half-Blood’s “yeah, we know” ship is hilarious and I love life right now.

Ooh, bombs.

Wait. No. No no no no no no no stop

FUCKING STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!

WHY?!?!? WHY DID BECKENDORF HAVE TO DIE?!? RICK!!! WHY??!!! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME

I can’t even be happy that Tyson is here, I’m already so fucking depressed and it’s your fault, Rick.

Oh, hey, Triton. Which, fun fact, since Triton is Ariel’s father in the Disney movie, this means that (in the Disney canon at least) Hercules and Ariel are canonically cousins. So, hypothetically speaking, Percy would be related to the Disney princess Ariel, which you can’t convince me he doesn’t brag and joke about all the time.

“[Poseidon] had told me that I would know when to ‘spend [the sand dollar],’ but so far I hadn’t figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn’t fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.” I love that the implication behind this is that Percy actually tried. He took this mysterious magic sand dollar that the god of the sea gave him and told him to spend wisely and wait for the right time to use it, and one day while he was at school, this fucking mad lad child decided to just cram it in the vending machine just to see what would happen. Percy is amazing and if you don’t love him, you’re wrong.

“Annabeth ran in right behind him, and I’ll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her. It’s not that she tried to look good… Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head.” Actually screaming.

Clarisse’s friendship with Silena makes me so fucking happy. Clarisse is softer than she wants people to know and I love that about her. She’s so gentle with the people she loves and I’m here for it.

“Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something that I didn’t. I hated when they did that.” Understandable. It happens a lot.

Oh, I recognize the name Chrysaor. Such a random reference, I love it.

JUST ADMIT YOU LIKE EACH OTHER YOU FRUITCAKES

“We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn’t know it then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic.” You know, Percy says something along these lines in every one of the books leading up to this one, and you’d think that I would learn to stop freaking out every time we get one of these lines, but you’d be wrong. Still getting anticipatory nausea and anxiety.

"The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole." Typhon?!?!?! Do we have to deal with Typhon now too?!

Well shit, I guess we have to deal with Typhon now. Yeah, okay, sure, I don’t mind or anything.

“As far as I could tell, Rachel’s only rule about music was that no two songs on her i-Pod could sound the same, and they all had to be strange.” Hey, Rachel and I have the same music library.

Wait, so Rachel’s getting future vision dreams now too? But she’s not a half-blood, right? I thought only demi-gods got prophetic dreams.

Where the hell is Nico? What has he been doing this whole time? Just chilling in hell with dead people? And what even is his plan and why is it bad?

I think Silena is my new favorite character. Eating chocolates she doesn’t even like to try and cheer herself up is so horribly sad and depressingly relatable.

Percabeth!

“I shuffled uneasily and pretended to go through some more reports. Technically, even on inspection, it was against the rules for two campers to be… like, alone in a cabin.” I see what you’re implying, Rick, and I’m laughing.

“And I know some of you might be thinking, Aren’t all demigods related on the godly side, and doesn’t that make dating gross? But the thing is, the godly side of your family doesn’t count, genetically speaking, since gods don’t have DNA. A demigod would never think about dating someone who had the same godly parent. Like two kids from Athena cabin? No way. But a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Hephaestus? They’re not related. So it’s no problem.” This is exactly how I predicted half-blood dating works, and it absolutely did not need to be addressed, but I kind of love that it was. It’s probably only funny to me because I was talking to my friend about this exact topic during school, and I made a “god incest chart” on a whiteboard so I could figure out if Percabeth would be considered incest. We eventually decided no, but still. My other non-pjo fanatic friends definitely started to question my sanity after that.

OH MY GOD! Is something gonna happen?! Are they finally going to confess?! Please, God, just give me this!

FUCKING GODDAMMIT, RICK!!! YOU CAN’T KEEP BLUE-BALLING ME LIKE THIS OR I’M GONNA RIP YOUR HAIR OUT

Oh, yeah, where the hell is Grover?

Wow, Annabeth really going for the throat here.

Aww, giant hell puppy

Nico!

Aww, of course Nico is sweet with the hell puppy

“Leneus’s knees started knocking. ‘I… I won’t answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!’ Nico looked like he was trying not to crack up. ‘I’ll walk the dog,’ he volunteered. He whistled, and Mrs. O’Leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.” I love this child. This child is my spirit animal.

Aww, Nico likes Juniper. That’s kind of adorable.

“[Nico’s] cold creepy smile made me sorry I’d agreed.” Have I mentioned I love this child?

Okay, shadow travel is the coolest thing ever, and definitely one of the coolest powers you could give to a child of Hades.

Everything with Luke’s mom… Oh, that’s horrible. I can’t imagine having to come to the realization that your own parent isn’t entirely there, especially at so young.

Little girl… not a monster… and something to do with fire… Shit, I got nothing.

HESTIA! Goddammit… I should’ve known that one.

I like that Percy refers to both Paul and Sally as his parents.

I really like Paul. I love it when step-parents are portrayed in a positive light, ‘cause I’ve got a step-dad too, and he’s more of a dad to me and my brother than my biological father.

Percy telling Sally that his signal to let her know he’s alright will be blue just about broke me. Fuck.

Orpheus!

The black figure Grover saw—I know him. Hypnos, the god of dreams. He’s a twin brother to Thanatos, the god of death. I think in some versions, Hypnos is actually female, but most people seem to agree that Hypnos is a male deity.

MOTHERFUCKER! Okay, so not Hypnos. Morpheus. I guess that makes more sense. *one google search later* Okay, I was kind of right. Morpheus is the son of Hypnos, and while Hypnos is the personification of sleep, Morpheus is the god of dreams and also has the ability to put people to sleep like Hypnos. Close, but no cigar sadly.

Nico! Why would you trick Percy?? If you just told Percy that Hades wanted to talk to him, he probably would’ve agreed, you didn’t have to lie to him.

PERSEPHONE!!!!!! And Demeter!

Demeter being a massive bitch about Persephone choosing to marry Hades is so on-brand and perfect. And that line about marrying the god of lawyers or doctors—oh my God this book is amazing.

Can we have an entire book about Hades and Persephone, please? This entire scene with all three of them is golden.

Why does Hades suck? Why did you do this to me? I had faith in you, Rick.

WHY IS PERSEPHONE SO INDIFFERENT TO ALL OF THIS?!?!??!!

ACHILLES!!!!! Wait, isn’t Achilles supposed to be blond?

Is it a coincidence that one of Greece’s most famous gay icons now stands before Nico di Angelo?

ANNABETH IS PERCY’S LIFELINE!!!! HIS TETHER, THE THING THAT KEEPS HIM HUMAN!!!!!! ToT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY GLASS I CAN EAT

Holy fucking shit…… River Styx magic doesn’t fuck around.

Percy going on a murder rampage and nearly stabbing the god of the underworld because they threatened his dog is honestly such a mood.

*GASP* Baby Annabeth!

“The god looked at Annabeth, who was doing her big-pleading-gray-eyes thing.” The fact that Annabeth leverages puppy-dog eyes is hilarious, and the fact that Percy is so familiar with it by now implies that she’s done it on him before and that it apparently works! Oh my God, I love these children.

Also, Athena being an overprotective mother who doesn’t approve of Percy is just… Have I mentioned I love this book?

“��This is a huge spell,’ Silena Beauregard said. ‘The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you’ve got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder.’” Yeah, that makes sense. Since the spell is bigger and spread across a greater number of people, it’s less concentrated than it would be if you wanted to just knock out two or three people.

The Hermes Cabin is just an army of Weasleys. (PJO Harry Potter au where the Weasleys are all children of Hermes and Harry is a son of Zeus when?)

“‘I’ll go with Percy,’ [Annabeth] said. ‘Then we’ll join you, or we’ll go wherever we’re needed.’ Somebody in the back of the group said, ‘No detours, you two.’ There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.” Everyone knows Percy and Annabeth are completely obsessed with each other.

“The girl in the lead had spiky black hair and a black leather jacket. She wore a silver circlet on her head like a princess’s tiara, which didn’t match her skull earrings or her Death to Barbie T-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.” Have I mentioned that I love Thalia? Goth-punk icon for the generations.

This is so fucking epic. I love the fast-paced battle planning stuff.

Michael Yew has a brother named Austin. I have a brother named Austin.

Percabeth. There’s that light-hearted snarky banter I’ve been craving.

Oh, yeah, since Percy’s fighting the Minotaur right now, I figured I’d make a reminder here that I forgot to write down in my first reaction post to the Lightning Thief. In the original mythology, the Minotaur was killed by Theseus, who was also, coincidentally, a son of Poseidon, so Percy slaying the Minotaur is kind of like a mirror to the original myth, even though he’s named after Perseus. But also I thought this was a good time to remind everybody that the Minotaur’s mother Pasiphae had sex with the Cretan Bull, an actual animal. Which, fun fact, is because Poseidon arranged for Aphrodite to put a spell on Pasiphae to make her fall in love with the bull. Kind of awkward that the Minotaur is technically Poseidon’s fault, and now Percy is the one that has to deal with the consequences.

“Tied around the base of each blade were lots of bead necklaces. I realized they were Camp Half-Blood beads—necklaces taken from defeated demigods.” Holy shit, that is dark. We’re really going there, huh, Rick?

Percy is a first-class badass.

Having all the monsters disintegrate when they die is a pretty clever way to avoid having to show actual blood and gore.

ANNABETH!!!!!!!!!!

“‘Percy?’ Silena Beauregard sounded like she’d been crying. ‘Plaza Hotel. You’d better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo’s cabin. It’s… it’s Annabeth.’” NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO NO DO NOT DO THIS TO ME!! I SWEAR TO FUCK IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ANNABETH I’M GOING TO SET MY HOUSE ON FIRE

“‘Get back!’ I slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Annabeth. ‘No one touches her!’” This. All of this.

Will Solace. I found the other gay one, but I can’t even be excited about that because ANNABETH IS PROBABLY GOING TO FUCKING DIE

Even when Annabeth has actual poison in her system, she cannot resist the opportunity to tease Percy for being worried about her. I’m deeply upset, but I still love them as a couple.

This entire scene is everything. Annabeth touching Percy’s weak spot—this is easily the most romantic thing I have ever read, and I read fanfiction for a hobby.

Okay, someone really needs to find this spy because they are wreaking shit and hard

I have no idea who the spy could even be. My first thought was Silena because of how prominent a character she is, but not only does that not make sense, but that would also be a fucking horrible idea. I don’t need to hurt anymore than I already do right now.

Wow. Holy shit, Nico’s life is a fucking tragedy. This child needs all the therapy after this. I’m not thrilled with this portrayal of Persephone, but it is what it is and it is fucking depressing.

What is going on with Rachel? She knows Greek now?? What is happening???

Oh, hey, Prometheus

*after learning about Luke's backstory* I can smell the redemption arc.

I feel I should mention that in the original myth, Pandora was the first woman and was created by Zeus specifically to make men's lives harder as punishment for Prometheus giving man fire, because Ancient Greece was sexist as all fuck.

HOLY SHIT!!! Percy is a first-class badass!!

Okay, so, Hyperion getting absorbed into a tree is prime nightmare fuel.

(Also, I was listening to We Will Rock You as I read this scene, which I feel is pretty apt.)

"'Yeah, baby!' a voice wailed. 'PARTY!'" Ah, I see the centaurs have joined the chat.

"The last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt." Only in Percy Jackson can you expect to read a sentence like this.

I love Dionysus being weirdly invested in Pac-Man of all things. That entire conversation between him and Percy in the bar was absolutely hysterical. Percy is such a snarky little shit and I love any interaction between him and Dionysus. It’s like watching two smart-asses trying to out-roast the other.

Sally and Paul!

Oh, no. Oh, this fucking hurts.

That fucking jar! Goddammit!

Rachel!

Annabeth, stop acting like Rachel isn’t already your friend now too. We established that last book, remember? You guys are nerd friends now.

YAS, ANNABETH! Girl held onto the outside of a crashing helicopter, and after pulling herself in, somehow managed to make sense of the controls and not only stopped the helicopter from crashing into a building, but also pulled it out of the fall to turn in a circle and hover before landing it on a New York highway with other people nearby without hitting anything or hurting anyone else. And she did all of this while the helicopter was literally seconds from crashing. Also also, technically only hours after she was stabbed in the shoulder with a knife coated in poison. *slow clap* BAMF Annabeth Chase, everyone.

“Rachel plopped down on the curb and put her head in her hands. ‘I’m sorry, Percy. I didn’t mean to… I always mess things up.’ It was kind of hard to argue with her, though I was glad she was safe.” Jesus Christ, Percy. Annabeth’s abandonment issues and poor socialization skills are not Rachel’s fault. But I guess she did just fly headfirst into a literal warzone, so I guess Annabeth’s reaction is a bit more understandable.

“I looked in the direction Annabeth had gone, but she’d disappeared into the crowd. I couldn’t believe what she’d just done—saved Rachel’s life, landed a helicopter, and walked away like it was no big deal.” Yup. You picked a good one, Percy.

"'Everybody keeps telling me to sleep,' I grumbled. 'I don't need sleep.' Chiron managed a smile. 'Have you looked at yourself recently, Percy?'" Yeah, for real, when's the last time any of these kids slept?

"You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible." Um. Yes. Yes, you absolutely can. The abuse victim says you can. (It's me, I'm the abuse victims, and I give you full permission to tell your family to go fuck themselves if they've ever done anything horrible to you.)

I get what the message is intended to be, and what Nico's trying to say: wanting revenge is a valid feeling to have, but holding grudges and holding onto that pain and fury will not actually make you feel any better. And by refusing to help the Olympians in the fight against Kronos, not only is Hades ultimately destroying himself, but he's also inadvertently aiding in the destruction of everyone else. Zeus is really the only one that deserves Hades's revenge, but at this point Hades isn't just hurting Zeus, he's hurting everyone, and when you cross the line of hurting innocent people in your quest to hurt the one that's actually guilty, your desire and quest for revenge is no longer justified. And if you've reached the point of hurting innocent people for no other reason than to make yourself feel better, then you really are no better than the person who hurt you in the first place. But none of this has anything to do with the so-called sanctity of "family".

We really need to find this fucking spy. They're running everything.

CLARISSE!!!!! YAY CLARISSE IS BACK!!!!!!

"Through her war helmet, I could only see her eyes—but I could tell something was wrong. Her blue eyes shone with fear. Clarisse never looked like that. And she didn't have blue eyes." Wait, what? What's going on????

"I looked down at the dying face of Silena Beauregard." WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!!????!!! WHY?!!??!!!??? WHY DID SILENA HAVE TO DIE?!??!! HAS SHE NOT BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY?!??!!!

"Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm, the mark of Kronos." WHAT

This entire chapter is literally nothing but pain.

"Standing at the foot of Zeus's throne, looking up at the stars, was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was holding a Greek ceramic vase." Oh no.

"[Rachel] focused on me as if she were coming out of a dream. 'I found it. It's Pandora's jar, isn't it?'" OH NO

"Her eyes were brighter than usual, and I had a bad flashback of moldy sandwiches and burned cookies." OH FUCK

"I picked up Pandora's jar. The spirit of Hope fluttered inside, trying to warm the cold container. 'Hestia,' I said, 'I give this to you as an offering.' The goddess tilted her head. 'I am the least of the gods. Why would you trust me with this?' 'You're the last Olympian,' I said." Title drop! It's all coming together!

This is the hypest thing I have read in years.

Chiron! Please don't die, I am literally begging you.

NICO'S BACK!

Everyone here is a fucking badass

Paul just stabbed a monster with a sword, and Sally fucking shot another one! In stories like these with divine powers and weapons that begin and end with stabbing, you are not expecting someone to just pull out a fucking gun and shoot the thing. I love this book.

"'Thalia!' Grover cried. When the dust cleared and the mountain stopped rocking, we found her still alive, but her legs were pinned under the statue." Holy fucking shit!

"Annabeth wipes her tears away. 'There was a time I thought… well, I thought…' She looked at me, like she was drinking in the fact that I was still here. And I realized I was doing the same thing. The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive." Love. Just love. It's beautiful and heartbreaking and I love these kids so much and I'm so glad they found each other.

"I turned and faced the Olympians. 'We need a shroud,' I announced, my voice cracking. 'A shroud for the son of Hermes.'" I mean…… What can I even say?

Percy's wish is everything.

OKAY, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO RACHEL?!??! Someone really needs to do something about this!

I love that Percy refers to Blackjack as his pegasus.

RAINBOW! <3

Oh! She has the gift of prophecy! Now that makes sense!

Wait. OH, FUCK!!

Okay, I'm glad Rachel is okay, but these fucking prophecies, man! We literally just got done with the Great Prophecy, but now there's another one we have to deal with?! Don't get me wrong, I'm still gonna read it and I'll probably love it, but still!

The moment when Percy and Annabeth finally get together is everything I ever hoped for, and it completely justifies every goddamn fake-out leading up to this point. I'm just so happy right now

That ending, man..... This book series is amazing. I'm so glad I was able to fall in love with it without knowing any significant spoilers. I cannot wait to read The Heroes of Olympus. Maybe I'll do a reaction series for that too.

[bisexualfemalemess]

*HSMTMTS SEASON 4 SPOILERS*

Gonna make seperate posts for episode 7 and eight because they’re so long and i would write like a whole book about them. So let’s get started with episode 7

WHAT IS HAPPENING? PRESS CONFERENCE?? GINA IS GOING TO NEW ZEALAND? With mack?! FUCK THIS! Not terri waiting on ricky as he’s climbing through gina’s window 😭😭😭 Fuck off with your mack bullshit. “I don’t personally have anything against you.” Bitch why you tryna start a beef then? EAT HER UP RICKY “are you planning on showing up for her tonight?” PROTECTIVE BOYFRIEND EXCELLENCE. AWUSUSUSU TELL HER YOU LOVE HER FIRST ITS WHAT SHE WANTS YOU MIND READER! Not miss jenn and gina talking about ricky not saying i love you yet. THAT PURPLE DRESS IS FUCKING GORGEOUS!! OMG. WOAH BENJAMIN AS COACH BOLTON LMAO. Not her casually checking if he’s dating anyone. Aww Ricky continuing nini’s tradition for her, they’re definitely better as friends. Aww, ej coming to see his friends. Aww, big red too. Ej supporting ash and maddox we stan. Aww, so glad seb and carlos are back together. Aww, he got ‘em a round-trip. Dani is playing tiara gold, fits. Did i mention that i love the relationship between Kourtney and her mom? Because i do. Hahaha not jet asking if kourtney’s mom remembered her, he’s so awkward with her, he’s as whipped as ricky. OOH, THEY BOTH WANNA TELL EACH OTHER THEIR THINGS. Madddox, coming in and interrupting and turning off the lights. The awkward laugh after ashlyn’s joke, they’re in love. Aww, rina meeting up in the dressing room at intermission so he can tell her he loves her and she can mention she’s leaving :( Also, the amount of kisses this season between them. INSANE. RINI COULD NEVER. Not mack :| naww, ricky holding her flowers. NOT HIM MOCKING MACK, HE’S A MENACE. Aww, Ricky telling miss Jenn he loves her, he’s on a trip rn. WAIT, MISS JENN GOT WICKED?! WAIT, MIKE AND LYNN ARE BACK TOGETHER???!!! Gina loves touching ricky’s face, just something i noticed throughout the season and rn during now or never. DEWEY WOOD?! He’s a madlyn shipper, as he should. Dani back away from ricky, please. He’s not having it 😭 RINA TROYELLA, THEY’RE SERVING! Terri actually showed up, wow. My babies. Aww, gina’s thinking about real life while playing gabriella. Give rina a happy end, pls tim. Aww, glad portwell got some closure even if she took away the one thing they have ashsjsusuusdshdududusu. She doesn’t want to ruin his night, aww. Rina supremacy. I love maddie and jet. Aww, jet’s such a cutie. “It feels like the stage should be afraid of you.”Bf. I want it all kinda served. ANTOINE?!!! NOT THE MIDDLE FINGER TO BIG RED SUSUSUSYSH THIS SEASOJ IS SO GOOD AND CHAOTIC. Not maddie practicing her confession to ash and then seeing her pretend she’s still with red. AWW RICKY PRACTICING HOW TO TELL GINA HE LOVES HER TO HIS PARENTS IM ON THE FLOOR. YES, WRITE HER A SONG. AHH NIGHT TO REMEMBER SISISUSUDUSU. WHY IS TERRI JUST WALKING IN AND OUT JUST STAY FOR YOUR DAUGHTER LIKE?! NOT SEB KISSING CARLOS IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE CROWD AND COMING OUT TO HIS DAD. Anyways, endgame. Aww, another rina kiss and her touching his face again, my children. Wait, who’s gonna go play coach bolton now that mazzara can’t? NOT GINA HAVING TO GO MEET QUINN WHILE RICKY IS GOING TO THE DRESSING ROOM TO TEL HER HE LOVES HER. Terri looks so happy telling him gina’s leaving??? AND THEN ADDING WITH MACK “i really am sorry, ricky.” Girl, no, you’re not. OMG THE WAY RICKY WHISPERED I LOVE TOU INTO THE EMPTY ROOM, I’M CRYING

[threewaysdivided]

I just wanted to say: I love your art and especially your banner rn by talos! also your fic as well thank you for creating everything that you do for people, it’s awesome!

Second: what’s something that you’ve been chewing on lately, story wise? What character conflict, or plot point can you tell me about (that doesn’t spoil too much of course)? I wanna hear your thoughts about the characters you write and your head-cannons on them too! Just spit some word vomit at me!

Thank you! 

My current banner art is actually a crop of the first paired piece I ever did to go with my Deathly Weapons fic.  (Specifically Chapter 11, which I still have a soft spot for since it’s one of earliest chapters that really let me lean into scratching the thing-I-haven’t-seen-too-often-in-fanfic itch.) 

I recently got my hands on a discounted Wacom (my digital art process got tanked a few years ago when my poor art-compatible hybrid tablet-laptop was tragically taken from us by a cracked motherboard) so I’m looking forward to getting into a faster art workflow again and maybe putting some new pieces out more easily.  I’d like to do more comic art pieces for the Chapter 18 mission, and there’s a silly little concept drawing for the planned Mission 5 that might be new-blog-banner material if it turns out nicely.  We’ll have to see how that goes.

As for what I’ve been chewing on story-wise lately… I’ve sort of been all over the place.  I’m still on burnout recovery so I’ve been letting myself move non-sequentially, working on the bits my brain feels like focussing on rather than trying to force creativity where the juice isn’t flowing.   (One of the things about being my type of writing-nerd is that “self-indulgent” for me means a story with plenty of material to analyse, which is very fun as a reader but has created a lot of work for myself as the writer.  As mentioned in another post, I have a full-blown TV-show-style story-bible for this one.)

Recently, my authorial ping-pong-ing has been going into a fair bit of spoiler territory.  There are some chunks of the Act III endgame plan which are underdeveloped in the specifics of what the big-boss bad-guys’ plan is, whether I want to involve the Anti-Ecto Acts more, and the logistics of both the counter-strategy our heroes are planning to use and how to make its more action-heavy parts look cool in writing.  When I’m not doing that I’ve been focussing a lot on the upcoming Wally-centric chapters, which are a set I’ve been wanting to keep schtum about since there’s a small potential spoiler mixed in and I don’t want to risk giving the game up or pre-setting people’s expectations before they have a chance to blind read (even if a few people have already made some close guesses in the comments).  It puts me in a bit of an odd-spot right now because the chapters I’m drafting are an immediate spoiler, the later sections I’m working on are a major spoiler and there’s a good chance that a lot of the character stuff going on in the middle won’t make a whole lot of coherent sense without prior context because of how I like to layer foreshadowing/development.

That said, Wally-centric chapters mean Wally thoughts, and of those I have plenty to share:

First of all, I want to establish that I really do like Wally as a character.  The DW chapter set comprising Flashpoints through to Equilibrium is going to explore and develop some of his flaws and insecurities, which means he isn’t going to be looking his best, but it’s not meant to be a Ron The Death Eater situation.  He’s just a complex person, and taking him warts and all means sometimes you have to get up close and personal on the warts.

Something that I’m maybe a bit over-conscious of when reviewing my DW story notes is worrying about letting Wally slide into just being punching-bag joke-fodder.  Wally is quippy, irreverent, a little tactless and prone to being a bit of an impulsive goober who sometimes gets possessed by teenage boner-brain, which makes him easy to fall back on as a default source of incidental levity (whether cracking the joke or being the punchline).  Because I’m now writing an 8-character ensemble where most non-focal characters only get a few lines per conversation, it’s easy for characters to slide into being defined by their strongest surface level trait(s)… and something I worry about with Wally is that his availability as a source of jokes runs the risk of Flanderisation into a disposable Scrappy/ Flirty Comic Relief, which isn’t his character.  Wally is actually really important – not just for his scientific book-smarts but for his perceptiveness, earnestness and ability to function as one of the emotional barometers for the squad – so I always have it in the back of my mind to make sure I include enough moments that actually demonstrate those qualities and the other characters’ appreciation of them/ their friendship, so that it counterbalances the more light-hearted goofery.

I think he’s walking the same tightrope as Sokka from Avatar: the Last Airbender – yes, he tends to take the L more often than the others for comedy purposes and sometimes he gets stuck with supremely dumb side-plots for the sake of tonal balance, but to claim that it’s the entirety of his characterisation really misses the point by a wide mile.

On that note, I actually really like the decision YJ!Animated decided to go with in its first and only season (ahem) in giving Wally a normal and functional family background.  I know that’s not the typical background for his comics counterparts (and no shade on other fan-writers who want to write AUs exploring the abuse dynamic, those are really interesting stories) but I think it was a smart deviation for the purposes of a large ensemble, and offered a fair bit of potential for cast-balance.  It lets him serve an important role as the normal one – not only as an easy window into what the current lives of ordinary middle-class civilians look like (which is good because ordinary people are who our heroes are donning the masks to protect) but also as a touch-stone for the others, most of whom either come from different cultures or from very atypical backgrounds.  Even if we discount the Impure Atlantean with military training, the ostracised White Martian and the Half-Alien clone-weapon, the other members of this line-up are an orphaned circus acrobat adopted by a billionaire, a girl from a dangerously dysfunctional criminal household where she was forced to fight her sibling, and a fledgling sorceress raised by an overprotective single Dad.  The others might intellectually understand what a “normal” childhood and family look like but they don’t necessarily know it as intuitively and intimately as Wally does.  That normality gives Wally the potential to be a more stable foundation for the others, a source of emotional contrast and of a necessary wholesome mundanity.  That is a good thing for the Team to have.  I think it also speaks volumes to the heart of his character.  For this Wally, the Flash and heroism weren’t an escape from a bad personal situation.  His life was actually pretty comfy and privileged - he didn’t experience a brutal wakeup to the injustices of the world or some other personal call to action.  This is a Wally who opted into the game because he loves the players and sincerely believes in their values and mission.  And while that might mean he has a more romanticised idea of what heroism entails – and will probably face some rough shocks down the line as that rosy vision runs into those more brutal realities – it also means he brings a sincere hopefulness to the job that is less hardened than a lot of his roughed-up, pre-jaded peers.  Underneath the teen sarcasm and surface-level lancer/smart-guy traits, this Wally has as much power to be a stealth-Heart as any of his Flash!counterparts.

Something else I find interesting when using Wally is how a lot of his strengths and flaws feed into each other – and I think this alternate backstory is part of it.  For all of his good heart Wally can come off as insensitive, and I think some of that could be read as a product of living a more charmed life.  I think he’s susceptible to a thing that a lot of real people do – universalising their own personal experience as the default – and that while he is canonically a geek and somewhat genre-savvy about hero cliches, he’s a geek about in-universe media so he probably doesn’t think to apply those tropes to “real people” like himself or his colleagues.  While this Wally is a skeptic, he’s not a cynic, and I think he might forget how much of an outlier he is in a world where things like living parents and loving parents are often mutually exclusive.  He’s smart enough to connect dots but there’s a little blind-spot where he simply might not think to until one of the others jabs an elbow into his ribs, because his default view on humanity is in some ways a little kinder than typical due to that small but still significant amount of privilege.

At the same time, Wally is also someone who has probably run into (or watched his mentor run into) a lamp-post at high-speed at least once in his career.  He contains multitudes and among those multitudes is an endless capacity for some absolute Looney-Tunes nonsense, which the world is 100% better off for having.

I love him, your honour.

[tamlinrose]

Good Omen 2 Spoilers

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Needless to say I’m devastated, obviously. The season was amazing, the writing, the acting, everything, and I was SO sure it was going to end with a drunken breakfast at the Ritz like Crowley. I was SO SURE they were going to kiss and happy music would swell and it was going to be all fine and dandy.

And of course I’m heartbroken for how It turned out, of COURSE I’m devastated that Aziraphale fundamentally missed the point that Crowley doesn’t want to be an Angel again, he doesn’t want to be a demon, he wants to be AZIRAPHALE’S.

Of course I’m so fucking sad that Crowley finally was vulnerable, and it came at just the wrong moment, the wrong time, the wrong wording to convince Aziraphale heaven can’t be fixed, because the thing is, Aziraphale is still brainwashed by the idea of Good. He is SO used to heaven being unkind that the second they throw him a bone he jumps, thinks “this is a chance for things to be different!” And is completely blinded by his own need to feel like a part of something bigger that he can’t see the truth, that they are manipulative and always will be, that if he didn’t have respect before he certainly won’t now, and most importantly That CROWLEY has never treated him like that, not once.

On the other hand, for all the people who are devastated and saying that they won’t rewatch, that they’re burning the bridge of their interest in good omens, that this is queerbait, it’s NOT. That’s your prerogative to stop watching of course, but the point is this is an UNFINISHED TALE. 6 episodes couldn’t cover the story, the overarching story, and this season didn’t have what would have been essential to Crowley and Aziraphale truly ending up together.

Crowley said it himself, Aziraphale WASNT THERE when they told him to shut up and die. He doesn’t believe heaven is as bad as it is because he hasn’t witnessed the true coldness up there in so long, and he’s NORMALIZED to the neglect and abuse he faces up there in a way many abused people are. He thinks that one bone is enough, that he can fix them, and he always would have felt that, which is why He NEEDS a personal arc where he realizes this on his own and stands up for himself AGAINST HEAVEN. THIS is his opportunity to do that. THAT is why the writers made him go back, he needs to know for himself before he can accept it.

THATS why Neil Gaiman is saying on his blog that he needs a season 3 to complete the arc. The writing timing of this falling out is intentional to keep the show alive to get to that point. If this tragic moment was left for Season 3 Ep 1 and they dined at the ritz like normal for Season 2 finale, there wouldn’t be any development we need for Aziraphale, and more importantly, if would feel like there was no need for a season 3. This tension is the writing worlds way of PRESERVING this show, and it’s frustrating yes, but that’s how things get renewed, that’s how Aziraphale gets the arc he needs, that’s how we get happy endgame Aziracrow, that’s how you rev up anticipation for the Second Coming, THATS how you write a story.

Also, it’s not queerbait. It never has been. They’ve always been in love, not even TALKING about the kiss here but about their complete trust in each other, their inside jokes, the DANCE SCENE, Crowley comforting Aziraphale after he lied to heaven. The symbolism between them and Maggie and Nina. (Nina also being in an abusive relationship like Aziraphale with heaven and needing TIME TO PROCESS before getting with Maggie, who will wait for her is totally mirroring the arc Aziraphale needs to have btw. Abused people don’t often just fall into healthy new relationships while still being entangled in their old ones mentally). My point is that if your argument for hating the ending is this was pulling the rug out from under queer fan base, think about all the creators who shoe in a gay relationship, kiss at the last second on the shows last episode, think about all the shows where subtext had to be enough, or where showrunners weren’t brave or allowed enough to make a relationship canon until the last second. This is the MIDDLE of the show (if everything goes well with Amazon which is out of Neil’s control). This has been explicit from the creators mouth and frankly the show itself for ages, even without a kiss. This is not queerbait, and sometimes relationships need space to be able to come back together in a truly fulfilled way, even queer ones.

Anyway that’s my rant, I have more, per usual, but this post is already long

[acacia-may]

Hello there! Not a request, I was just wondering. You love Jerza, I saw that, but when you first watched Fairy Tail, did you first shipped Erza with Simon shortly before it was with Jellal? Because that happened to me and while I love Jerza, I loved Simon too and I wouldn't have mind at first if he ended up with Erza. But well, he died tragically pretty soon and Jellal got his redemption, so...

Hello! Thank you so much for the ask! 🥰 Aww...poor Simon! Bless his heart. 💕 He was such a good person, and I really loved his character. I've been rewatching some of the Tower of Heaven arc recently and really remembering just how wonderful he was. 🥺 I can definitely see the appeal of a Simon and Erza ship. He had a lot of genuine care and devotion for her which is very sweet, and I think that the sacrifices that he made for her are incredible and very admirable.

Overall, I agree with a lot of what you said, and, like you, I also would not have minded if he and Erza had ended up together (if circumstances were different and that's what they both decided they wanted for themselves). However, I wouldn't say I shipped that first, for a couple of reasons which I'll discuss under the cut because of spoilers.

(Warnings: Spoilers for Fairy Tail).

(1) I didn't experience Fairy Tail in what I would I consider the "normal way." I actually watched some of it out of order including the entirity of the Tower of Heaven arc. I also had a lot of spoilers just in general going into the series, one which was that Jerza was an endgame (canon?) ship so I at least figured Jellal was headed towards a some sort of redemption arc somehow even though I had absolutely no clue what was going on with him until (I don't even know...) the Oracion Seis arc? Edolas? Somewhere in there... (Those spoilers would have probably been helpful, but I didn't actually know anything about his arc except that he and Erza would eventually end up together so there was a lot of theorizing and trying to make sense of that). But I think knowing that he would eventually end up with Erza, I gave him more of the benefit of the doubt than I would have otherwise, and I was always really fascinated with Jellal as a character. He was definitely one of the ones I was most interested in, especially early on, but I made a lot of jokes about how I didn't understand him at all.

(2) On kind of this same point, I had a very strange and compartmentalized view of Jellal and kind of saw Jerza as multiple different ships (in a way) because I really had this "there are actually several different people who we think are all Jellal but are not actually the same person" theory. I really ran with that for a while, and my sister and I were actually (jokingly) keeping track of the many different "Jellals." We got up to, I think, 7 or 8 different Jellals in total by a certain point, and we would make jokes about it like: "Oh I could imagine Jellal #6 and Erza together, but Jellal #3 is bad news. I don't ship that!" 🤣 My favorite iteration of Jerza at that point was probably Erza x Jellal #1 (that is the Jellal from Erza's flashbacks/childhood before he was brainwashed and whatever his adult counterpart was, of course). That said, my personal favorites of all of the Jellals (besides Jellal #1) were always Jellal #4 (that's Mystogan) and Jellal #7 (Tiny Mystogan who was such a good big brother to Wendy! So precious! My son!! 💙), but I never shipped Edo!Jellal (Mystogan) with Erza Scarlet. (Now Edolas Jerza is totally different story and I adore that ship but I digress...) Here are some actual screenshots just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about and to prove that I’m not just kidding… 😅😂

(A/N: Clearly some of my theories were incorrect 😂😅)

Of course, ultimately, there were not actually 7 different "Jellals," but I did feel very vindicated when it was revealed that I was at least partially right and that Jellal and Mystogan were in fact two separate people. But I think having this very compartmentalized and fractured view of Jellal as a character made it much easier for me to get behind the idea of Jellal and Erza as a ship (in a very weird way). In most basic terms, it was very much, "I ship her with the good Jellal not the evil one" in my mind because I genuinely thought they were separate people 😂😅 (A/N: I really am a goofball sometimes and my theories can be very out there...)

(3) I am not a usually a big fan of relationships that feel one-sided in general. In this case, for instance, it is clear that Simon has romantic feelings for Erza, but she is still kind of wrestling with these complicated feelings she has for Jellal and dealing with a lot of her own personal trauma that is preventing her from being ready and even wanting to pursue a romantic relationship at that point. That isn't to say that she couldn't have grown to love Simon had he survived, but at that particular moment in their lives (during the Tower of Heaven arc), it really felt like an unrequited love situation to me. It is usually a much harder sell for me to get behind those kinds of ships in general, and it definitely takes a while (much longer than we were given with Simon, unfortunately) if there isn't some (obvious) indication that that other person is at least open to idea of returning that affection. It's usually just a personal preference for me to kind of take a "wait and see" approach with those kinds of ships before jumping on board and actually shipping it. Unfortunately, Simon's arc was cut short, so I didn't really get the time to make up my mind about that ship before the story kind of made up my mind for me (by axing him and removing him as an option). So it is really only upon reflection and looking back that I truly appreciated what could have been between them.

But ultimately, I love Simon, Erza, and Jellal as characters, and I want nothing but good things for them. Obviously what happened to Simon is incredibly tragic, and I think in a certain way, we'll just never know what could have been and there is a tragedy in that. But I think in my mind, I prefer their friendship, and I do have lingering questions about whether or not Erza would have ever returned his romantic interest in her even if he had survived. (I can almost guarantee you, however, that no one would ship that harder than Jellal--my poor little guilt-ridden, self-deprecating boy. I can just see him urging Erza to pursue Simon instead of him because he is the type of man who is worthy of her (at least in Jellal's eyes). That said, I do not like love triangles/shapes so I am actually kind of glad this didn't happen).

Thank you so much for the ask and for indulging my ramblings! Please feel free to drop by any time with any more Fairy Tail questions. I've definitely got a bit of brain rot for it at the moment! Cheers!! 💖